


Time To Waste

by Dean_loves_Cas_forever



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bottom Spencer Reid, Case Fic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek loves Spencer, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Graphic Description, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Derek, Kidnapping, M/M, Masturbation, OOC characters, Oblivious Spencer Reid, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Drug Addiction, Pet Names, Protective Derek, Rating May Change, Spencer Loves Derek, The BAU as a family, Usual Criminal Minds Peril
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 41,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25205671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dean_loves_Cas_forever/pseuds/Dean_loves_Cas_forever
Summary: The BAU not only sees what the dangerous people of the world can do to others but often experience what they can do. And, when two of the team like each other, they can only hope they have time to waste pining. Or will they have to step up and admit their feelings before something bad happens that they can't come back from?
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Comments: 109
Kudos: 270





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A very short first chapter...  
> I'm not sure how long this fic will be, and I just write it when I have ideas really, but I wanted to just post the first two parts to gage interest, and I'll post the next chapter if people are intruged. I'll post more eventually either way so don't worry. (I will also add tags as I go)  
> Enjoy

Spencer sat stock still on the couch, staring blankly out of the window at the garden outside. He remained there, barely blinking, until a light touch to his shoulder startled him.

"Just me." A low voice said. Spencer wet his lips nervously and swallowed. He tipped his head to lean against the hand. The hand moved slowly to gently run its fingers over Spencer's jaw. Spencer took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face before leaning his head back to look at the man behind him.

"I-I missed you today, how was your day?" He asked, barely controlling the wavering in his voice. The other man smiled softly and remained silent for a moment as he watched his hand trace Spencer's features.

"It was good, very... relieving." The man sighed. Spencer nodded, swallowing again, then pressed a shaky kiss to the hand on his face.

"That's good." Spencer agreed. His fingers automatically found the nearest thing to fiddle with, anything to try and calm himself. "What... what would you like to eat?" The hand slid up further and tangled in his hair, pulling slightly.

"What did you do today?" Spencer pointed to the books on the coffee table. "Whatever you want to make is fine." Spencer bit his bottom lip lightly and nodded. Once the hand released his hair, Spencer stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

Spencer squeezed his eyes shut to try and stop the tears from flowing. He could almost hear his heart pounding but the chains dragging across the floor drowned out anything else. Except _his_ voice.

"Didn't I tell you it would be easier when you don't fight."

TWO WEEKS EARLIER...

The team was thankful for a night off. They had been working non stop for weeks and they'd been hoping for a night they could spend together without having to look over the worst days of people's lives. They had decided to meet at David's house, since he was arguably the best cook out of all of them.

"What are we watching tonight?" Aaron asked as they ate.

"Something we can follow even with Spence interrupting." JJ said with a smile. Spencer looked over his laughing friends with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't interrupt." He argued.

"Yes, honey, you do." Penelope said with a gentle smile and a pat on the shoulder. Spencer looked over each of his friends' faces and his frown deepened when they nodded at him sympathetically.

"It's just that sometimes the shows you want to watch get things wrong or they don't make sense." Spencer said defensively, drawing another laugh from the others. "I- I can stop."

"We wouldn't have a movie night if we didn't want to sign up for a Spencer commentary." Derek reassured. Spencer glanced up at him, taking in the man's sincere eyes, and nodded. The youngest continued to eat while the others looked at each other.

"What do you want to watch?" Aaron said, his eyes on Spencer. They watched as Spencer continued eating without registering that Aaron was talking to him. "Reid." Spencer's head snapped up.

"What?" Another laugh filled the room.

"What do you want to watch, Spencer?" Aaron said again. Spencer glanced at everyone else for confirmation then swallowed.

"It hardly seems fair to let me choose the movie." Spencer said.

"Ok, then how about you choose the genre and we'll decide the movie?" Emily tried.

"Horror." He said quickly before scooping more food into his mouth.

"No, Spence, they're too scary." Penelope whined.

"Trust me, it won't be scary with him telling us the bad choices that are being made and the improbability of a killer's survival." JJ said teasingly.

"We'll just choose one that isn't too scary." David said. Derek watched as Spencer opened his mouth to comment but he held his hand up.

"Save it for the movie, Pretty Boy." He said with a smile. Spencer bit his lip and watched Derek for a moment, trying to calm the flutters in his stomach, before he nodded and turned his attention to his plate.

"Who's turn is it?" Emily said as the others gathered the dishes together. She stared pointedly at Spencer until the man rolled his eyes and slid the plates off the table to carry them to the kitchen.

"You know, I know it's my turn." Spencer said. The rest of the team moved to the living room while Spencer washed the dishes.

"You want any help?" Derek asked. He leant on the counter next to the sink.

"Not sure how you intend to help." Spencer said, a small smile on his lips despite himself. Derek chuckled. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked over to watch the others in the living room.

"You know, we really don't mind you talking during the movies." He said. Spencer nodded and smiled at him.

"I know, I just..." He shrugged, dismissing his own thoughts.

"We all love your mind, the team wouldn't be the same without you." Derek watched fondly as a light blush made its way up to Spencer's cheeks. "Come on, it's family time. The only thing you should be thinking about right now is horror movies."


	2. Chapter 2

Spencer and JJ were sat in the conference room eating lunch, talking about Henry and their plans for the weekend. Emily and Penelope joined them with hands carrying their food and faces plastered with smiles.

"Do you have any plans this weekend, Spence?" Emily asked as they settled at the table. Spencer glanced at each of his friends then shook his head.

"No," He answered simply.

"We were going to have a girl's weekend but if you have nothing planned, do you want to join us?" JJ said. Spencer shrugged and frowned.

"I- You- I don't want to disrupt your plans." Said Spencer after a moment. The girls shared knowing looks and turned fond smiles towards the man.

"You aren't disrupting anything, we asked you to come." Emily said. Spencer looked between them then looked at Penelope.

"Of course I want you to come too." She said with a comforting grin. Spencer couldn't help but return the smile.

"If you really don't mind me coming," He said, nodding. The girls laughed, Emily reached over and patted his shoulder. Spencer zoned out as the girls began talking amongst themselves, warmth was spreading through his body at the knowledge that his friends wanted to add him to their plans and they didn't seem to be doing it out of obligation or pity.

"What are you doing this weekend, Hotch?" One of the girls asked as the other man entered the room. Spencer focused on the room again and turned to Aaron.

"I'm stuck with babysitting duty." He said with a slight smile. JJ raised her hands and chuckled.

"Henry is very excited to finally have a play date with Jack." Hotch shook his head, smile still on his face, and sat down.

"Where are Rossi and Morgan?" He asked. As he waited for a response, he handed out the files he had brought in.

"We have a case?" Emily asked. Aaron hummed. It wasn't long before the two missing members of the team walked in. Derek laid a coffee cup in front of Spencer and took the seat next to him. Penelope smiled secretively behind her own cup, glancing suggestively at the coffee Spencer already had in front of him when JJ looked at her.

"Thank you." Spencer almost whispered. Another round of knowing looks were shared; they had been expecting Spencer to mention that he already had coffee or at least spew some facts about the drink.

"A case?" David said. He held his hand out for a file.

"Ok, go ahead, Garcia." Garcia hopped up and grabbed the remote.

"There were 8 bodies found in Maine over the past three weeks. Once the police department went public with points on the ME report, there were 5 other departments that came forward with reports of other bodies in the same condition." Garcia said. The team flipped through the file, looking over the crime scene photos. "The victims range all across the board; men and women, a range of races, 17-35."

"Seems random and disorganised." Morgan mumbled.

"They all look like they've been dumped, there doesn't seem to be any remorse." JJ said. "What made the other departments think that they were connected?"

"They have numbers carved into their chests." Reid said before Garcia had the chance. "38, 5, 14, 22, 17, 6, 11, 3." 

"What could they mean?" Rossi said. Reid frowned over them for a second then looked over the photo's from the other departments.

56\. 64. 34. 8. 76. 44. 21. 13. 10. 59. 61. 66. 25. 15. 62. 18. 

"Maybe it's the unsubs way of counting his victims." Reid suggested. "If so, then the unsub has 76 potential victims, maybe more."

"So, he's organised. He's found somewhere to keep his victims where he tortures and kills them before dumping them." Hotch said. The others nodded in agreement.

"That's a lot of victims to dump, how have only..." Emily trailed off.

"24." Reid said quickly.

"How have only 24 victims been recovered?" She continued.

"Maine is 90% forested, the forest covers 17.8 million acres. There's a lot of places to hide a body. Not only that, but bodies from our unsub have been found in other states. He could be dumping bodies anywhere. With 3.797 million square miles of land to dump a body in and an unknown number of victims, I don't know how we'll be able to find all of them." Reid said. Morgan huffed softly, glancing at the younger man fondly. 

"So our unsub could be anywhere." Prentiss sighed. Reid pulled the ME's photos towards him and looked over them for a moment.

"The chances are he's in Maine. There are more victims that have been allocated lower numbers there. It's his comfort zone." He said. 

"Ok, we're headed to Portland." Hotch closed his file and stood. "Wheels up in an hour." 

\----

Hotch and Rossi were looking over the case files on the jet while Prentiss and Morgan were talking, JJ was on her phone and Reid had his nose in a book. Prentiss pretended not to notice Morgan's eyes constantly shifting to Reid. 

The younger profiler continued to read oblivious to the looks the older members of the team would give him; he was too used to people observing him. He was attuned to the feeling of being watched, it wasn't necessarily a pleasant feeling, but he had gotten used to, comfortable with, the constant glances the team sent his way because he knew that it was out of concern and love. So, when he felt like someone was watching him while he was with the team, he ignored it. 

Hotch caught Morgan as he glanced over to Reid and smiled slightly, though he turned to look at the young man too just to make sure he was ok. 

"You know, many people believe it's rude to stare." Reid said, not looking up from his book. JJ looked up from her phone to see the team looking away from Reid quickly, she chuckled and glanced at Reid with a smile. Reid returned the smile. When JJ looked back to her phone and Reid still felt eyes on him, he looked up. Morgan and Reid's eyes met for a second before Reid flicked his eyes back to his book with a blush and a shy smile on his face. 

"Oh Spence, there's a magic show in town next month and Henry wanted me to ask you if you'd take him." JJ said suddenly. Another smile found it's way onto Reid's face at the mention of his godson and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'd love to." He said brightly. JJ grinned and began typing on her phone. 

"Don't forget Jack's party is next month too." Hotch piped up. A mumble of acknowledgement filled the plane, drawing a quiet chuckle from the unit chief. 

"I'll make sure they aren't on the same day." 

"We land in 10 minutes. Morgan and Rossi, I want you at the morgue. See if you can find something we don't already know. Reid, you and I will go to the dump sites. Prentiss and JJ, you're going to get set up at PD." Hotch said seriously. 

\----

He stood in the shadows, watching silently with a proud smirk on his face. It may have taken 10 years for them to take notice, for them to connect the dots, for them to call in the FBI, but they were finally here. 

He watched as the FBI looked around the forest, searching for clues. 

One agent caught his eye. 

He couldn't stay as long as he wanted to, he had business to attend to at home. But he hesitated to watch hungrily. With a deep, quiet breath, he stepped away, careful not to draw the attention of the police or the FBI. 

He had plenty of time. 


	3. Chapter 3

"The bodies had defensive wounds and bruises around their wrists and ankles but there were no drugs or alcohol found in their systems." Rossi said when the team had joined at the police station. They sat staring at the board, waiting for something to click, when an officer hurried into the conference room they'd been given. 

"Sir, this was left for you." She said, handing Hotch a plain, padded envelope. 

"Thank you." He said. The team watched their leader cautiously as Hotch opened the envelope. All of their faces scrunched in confusion when a disc slid out. They gathered around him as he pulled a laptop towards him. 

" _See Me Thrive._ " Reid read out loud from the writing on the disc. 

_Something was removed from over the camera lens revealing a darkly lit room with a chair in the centre of it. There was the sound of a scuffle coming from behind the camera, mixed with desperate, muffled screams, then two bodies entered the frame. A young girl was shoved onto the chair by a slight man, who tied her wrists and ankles to the chair. She struggled against the bonds and screamed against the gag. The man backed up, making sure not to look towards the camera, but he started to turn too early, in a place where the camera would catch his face. Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind the camera and grabbed the man's arm._

_"Hey now, I know you're excited but only I'm allowed to see that pretty face of yours." A deep voice said. The hand pulled the man behind the camera and the sound of kissing could be heard._

_"Soon?" A quieter, more timid voice asked. A chuckle sounded._

_"Soon, baby, you know how this goes." The girl's screams muffled any further exchange between the men. A tall, broader man entered the frame. He stalked towards the girl, who started to thrash and sob. He lifted his left hand, showing the knife we was holding. The camera barely caught the way the girl's eyes widened in terror. He twirled the knife through his fingers, just looking at her._

_Slowly, confidently, the man cut the girl's shirt open to reveal her chest. He ran the knife over her exposed skin gently, ignoring her muted pleas._

_"What's this one, darling?" The man asked. There was a shuffling of paper but it was halted by a shout from the man. "You should know."_

_"I do, I do know, sir. I swear." The man behind the camera stuttered. The other man took a deep breath to calm himself down. "90. She's 90."_

_"Good boy." The man praised. The happy sigh the hidden man released was dulled by the girl screaming in pain. The man moved to the side so that the camera could see the wound he had just inflicted, though it just looked like a mess of blood. Until the man grabbed a cloth and wiped the blood away. It was the number 90._

_The man took the gag out of her mouth, his shoulder shaking when she began to scream bloody murder._

_"You can scream 'til your lungs give out but no-one is going to come for you." The words were barely disernable over the screaming but they were audible. The girl let her screams die down to desperate sobs, her whole body shaking and still straining against the ropes. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, why you, what did you do to deserve this and all that." The man said, his voice mocking as though he'd heard it all before. Which, if their body count was correct, he probably had. "I can answer all of those pathetic questions with one sentence." The girl sobbed again but her face twisted in confusion. "I don't like sharing."_

_"What?" She calmed down enough to ask. The man grabbed her jaw and moved her face to look at the other man._

_"He's mine, you see. And I get jealous when other people think they can take him from me." The man said lowly. She began to shake her head, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks._

_"No, no. He-He came onto me!" She insisted. The man laughed and backed up slightly._

_"Oh, I know. He likes the attention and he likes it when I get jealous." The man said, a smile blatant in his tone. A whine behind the camera had the man backing away from the girl. The sound of kissing came through the speakers again. The girl frowned and flinched as the rustle of clothing could be heard. She clenched her eyes shut and struggled again just as heavy breathing turned to loud moans and groans._

_The video was fast-forwarded until the girl opened her eyes. The two men entered the frame again, their clothes on but in disarray._

_"Can I go now?" The girl begged. "I get it, he's yours, I'm sorry." The two men laughed._

_"No," The larger man said. The two men moved to a desk behind the girl, talking quietly to one another, before turning to her with knives in their hands._

_The next 15 minutes were filled with the two men taking turns in cutting and stabbing the girl before they stepped back to watch her die. The larger man pulled his partner to his side gently._

_"I saw another one today." The man said. The smaller man hummed and leant into him._

_"What's he like?" He asked. The larger man took a deep breath._

_"He's got this hair that looks like he just got fucked six ways from Sunday, these big doe eyes and mmm, he's perfect." The man explained, his arm seeming to tighten around his partner as he recalled the man he had seen._

_"You... You want to keep him?" The smaller man said nervously. The larger man chuckled and kissed the other man on the forehead, surprisingly tenderly._

_"Yeah, maybe for a little bit." The smaller man pulled himself out of the man's grasp._

_"You said you wouldn't do that anymore." The smaller man nearly whispered._

_"He's different, baby. You should have seen him." The smaller man shook his head, his shoulder's shaking for an entirely different reason, then stormed past the camera with his head in his hands. The larger man took a deep, angry breath. In a fit of rage, he pulled his arm back and punched the dead girl in the face. The man calmed himself and walked back to the camera. "He's different, he'll be worth it. He'll be so worth it. He's different. He's... better." The man was mumbling as he turned the camera off._

"There's two of them." Hotch said once the screen was black. Prentiss moved quickly to start listing all the things they learnt from the video. 

"So, it's a dominant/submissive relationship but both are active participants, both enjoy it." Prentiss said. "The submissive seems to find and lure the victims with the suggestion of sex so they leave willingly. They both get off on it." The team returned to their seats and faced Prentiss. 

"We know they've killed 90 people now." JJ said. Prentiss nodded and wrote that down too. "And that they number the victims before killing them." 

"The dominant said that she could scream because no one would come, so they have a sound proof room or a house that's away from civilisation to hold their victims." Prentiss said as she wrote. 

"The dominant has already chosen who he wants next." Reid said. "And the submissive isn't happy about it." 

"Why send us the video?" Rossi asked. "They don't show their faces but they don't seem to distort their voices or hide their bodies. They had to know that we'd get information from it."

"They must be confident we wouldn't get enough from it to find them." Morgan shrugged. 

"Their body types are too common to be helpful. If we tell people, one unsub is average height and skinny, and the other is tall and muscular, we could get hundreds of calls of people accusing normal men of 90 murders." Said Reid. "My guess is that they fit into the public effortlessly, nothing about them would outwardly suggest that they're sadistic killers." 

"Why would they want to send us a video could suggest that there may be issues in their relationship?" Prentiss said. 

"Maybe they don't care that it caught part of their relationship, they just wanted to show us the murder." JJ said. Hotch frowned and pulled his phone out.

"I'm getting Garcia down here." 

\----

It was getting dark when Garcia arrived at the police station. She set up as quickly as she could then started to analyse the disc as well as she could. 

Morgan sat next to Garcia, thinking hard. They were the only two in the room, the others had gone to get food and coffee.

"What's got your mind working, sugar?" Garcia asked suddenly. Morgan focused on her and hummed. "You're thinking hard, what about?" 

"Just something one of the unsubs said." Morgan said, trying to sound casual. Garcia looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "He knows who he wants to be his next victim."

"And you think it's our genius?" She asked. She watched him struggle for words for a moment then smiled. "Come on, he was the first person I thought of when the unsub described who he wanted." 

"It could be anyone." Morgan said instead. Garcia rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and continued her work. 

Though she was right, his mind had turned to Reid immediately at the unsub's words but he had assumed that it was just because he had described the younger agent the same way in his head before. Realistically, it could describe anyone, the unsub hadn't gone into any real detail. 

Garcia opened her mouth to say something, likely inappropriate, when they were interrupted by the team returning. 

"Have you found anything yet?" Hotch asked. 

"I brightened the video but the room has been covered in black fabric so I can't see any features of the room or any windows. Also they never show their faces. The smaller man is about 5'8 and the other one is about 6'3." Garcia said. "I'm sorry I can't be more helpful." 

"Sir, someone was just killed in their home."


	4. Chapter 4

The scene they arrived to was chaos.

A window in the back door was smashed and there was blood all over the room. Furniture was broken and thrown around. The body lay amongst the mess.

There was barely a place on the man's body that hadn't been stabbed or cut, the only area that wasn't mutilated was where the unsub had crudely carved '91' on his chest. 

"I think this was the submissive unsub." Reid said after a minute of looking over the body. 

"What makes you think that?" An officer asked. 

"The wounds aren't controlled. This is the result of rage, there's major overkill. He was stabbed 72 times." Reid said. He tilted his head to look at his face, which was relative untouched. "Was there a driver's licence?" The officer handed the licence over, watching Reid in awe. With the licence in hand, he walked out to the cars where Morgan had been talking to the neighbour. 

When Reid got to the cars, Morgan was on the phone with Garcia. He fiddled with the licence while he waited for him to finish, his eyes looking over Morgan as his mind raced. A hand on his shoulder startled him. 

"Hello?" Reid said easily. He didn't recognise the man stood in front of him so he assumed the man was a resident and smiled politely. An odd look passed over the man's face as he looked at Reid, causing Reid's smile to falter slightly.

"Doesn't it bother you?" The man said, gesturing to Morgan. Reid frowned, he listened to his friends talking. 

"Does what bother me?" He asked instead. 

"Him flirting with someone else." The man said. He said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Should it?" Reid looked back at Morgan. He was facing away from them but he was close enough for them to hear the conversation. 

"I'd be bothered if my boy was talking to someone else like that." The man said while Reid was looking the other way. Reid's frown deepened before realisation dawned on him. He whipped around but the man was gone; his eyes flicked back and forth over the faces of the crowd as he tried to find him but there were too many cars and too many people. 

"Reid?" Said Morgan from behind him. "You ok?" 

"I think I just spoke to the unsub." Reid said incredulously. 

"Garcia found him. His name is Eric Mitchell and he was arrested at a gas station a few miles from here." Morgan said. Reid shook his head and looked over the crowd again. 

"No, the dominant one." Reid said. 

"Did you feel threatened?" Morgan asked, a protective tone in his voice. 

"No, not at all." Morgan followed Reid's gaze, though he didn't know what he was supposted to be looking for. 

"How'd you know then?" Reid fixed him with an unimpressed glare. Morgan raised his hands in surrender and nodded. "Ok, well we're going back to PD to talk to Eric." 

\----

Reid watched Hotch try and talk to the unsub. The man looked nervous; his eyes were flicking all over the room, rarely landing on Hotch, and he was picking at his nails. 

"He's not getting anything." JJ said from behind him. Reid took a breath then walked out of the room, leaving a confused JJ behind. 

Reid entered the interrogation room carefully, nodding to Hotch before turning his eyes to Eric. 

"I'm Dr Spencer Reid," He introduced himself then sat down next to Hotch. Eric watched him carefully as he moved, watched as Reid slid Hotch's file in front of himself. Reid turned his gaze to Eric, sympathy at the forefront. A look that had Eric scowling suspiciously. It wasn't until Reid pushed his hair back that the scowl turned to rage, the sort of rage that would lead to 72 stab wounds if he had the chance.

"You." Eric hissed, bolting upright in an attempt to grab Reid. Hotch's eyebrows furrowed. He quickly stood up and guided Reid out of the room. 

"I think I can get him to talk." Reid insisted as he tried to move past Hotch. 

"No, he doesn't like you for some reason. I want you to go back to the crime scene, see if we missed something. The witness said that she only saw the unsub leave the house, we didn't look outside for his entry path." Hotch saw Reid's reluctance, "I need your eyes at the scene. You see things we don't." Reid sighed and looked at Hotch. 

"Ok." Reid started to walk away. 

"Take Morgan. If the unsub spoke to you, you may be a target. I don't want to risk anything." Reid nodded seriously then walked away to find Morgan. 

\----

Morgan watched in awed silence as Reid looked over every inch of the garden. When Reid was in his mind during a case, it was difficult to pull him out of it. It was one of the things he loved about their resident genius. 

It had taken him a long time to admit he loved any part of Reid in any way that wasn't platonic. But, after long talks with his mother and sisters, and even with Hotch and Garcia, he finally let himself feel what he truely felt for Reid. Not that he'd ever told Reid.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps coming towards him. And the next thing he knew was darkness. 

A thump from the house pulled Reid out of his head. He was always acutely aware of the wellbeing of his team. He pulled his gun out of its holster and hurried towards the house. 

"Morgan!" He exclaimed when he saw the man knocked out on the floor. He reholstered his gun and dropped to his knees beside the man. He cupped Morgan's face, slapping him gently in hopes of waking him up. "Come on." He checked Morgan's head for injuries, patting gently to look for blood. He pulled his hand back when his fingers touched something wet. His hands shook as he looked at the blood there. "Derek," He murmured, cupping Morgan's head with his clean hand. "Derek, wake up." He stroked Morgan's cheek gently. 

He didn't hear the foot steps approaching but he did feel the needle in his arm. 

\---- 

Derek groaned. His head was throbbing and the light hurt his eyes. A hand was in his. 

"R'd?" He slurred. But the voice was too deep to be Reid. 

"Morgan?" He blinked his eyes open slowly until he could focus on the face next to him. Rossi. 

"Where's Reid?" He asked after a minute. 

"He's not here." 


	5. Chapter 5

The rumble of an engine. 

The moon reaching through trees. 

Spencer couldn't hold onto his consciousness for long enough to know where he was going. He didn't even know how long he had been in the car. Long enough for the day to pass by. 

The next time Spencer came to, he was roused by a gentle hand caressing his cheek. He leant into it in his sleep-hazed state but then his eyes snapped open. 

"Hey sweetheart." A voice said softly. Spencer's heart jolted when he focused on the man in front of him.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked as calmly as he could. 

He knew what he was supposed to do in these situations, he knew he had to play along but he didn't know what playing along would entail and that terrified him. He knew what the man in front of him could do, he'd _seen_ it. 

"My name's George. George Markson." The man said. Spencer bit his lip and nodded while he looked around the room.

It looked welcoming enough; there were pictures on the walls, blankets draped on the sofa, the bookcase was full. But Spencer knew it could be a charade, that it was probably a lie. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and sat up slowly. A jangling of chains drew his attention down to his hands. The sight of the cuffs around his hands had him panicking. He fought against the chains, desperately trying to rip his hands out. 

"Hey, hey now." George mumbled. Spencer shook his head and thrashed against the cuffs. A sharp slap across his face caught his attention. He turned wide eyes to the man. "Calm down, struggling won't get you out." Spencer took a deep breath and followed the chains with his eyes; it was attached to a bolt in the centre of the ground floor and was long enough to allow him to roam relatively freely. "It'll be easier if you don't fight." 

"Why am I here?" Spencer asked in a whisper. 

"Well, I saw you at my dump site and you're perfect." George said. He looked over Spencer's face, running his hand through the man's hair before stroking his cheek. "And I just had to have you. You're the perfect replacement for Eric. You know since you arrested him, I need someone new. Someone better. And here you are." 

"What about my family?" Spencer dared to ask. George's jaw clenched and his arm snapped forward, grabbing Spencer by the neck. 

"You don't need them, you have me." George said through clenched teeth. Spencer nodded desperately, forcing himself to look George in the eyes. 

"You're right, you're right. You're all I need." Spencer choked out. "I'll do as you say, I promise." 

"Good boy." George smiled, relaxing his grip. "Now, you should get some sleep, I need to wake up early to get to work and I like a cooked breakfast." Spencer bit his lip and nodded. George stared at him for a moment then he leant in and pressed their lips together. Spencer resisted for a split second before his mind screamed at him to play along. 

"Goodnight." Spencer said softly as George made his way upstairs. George shot him a pleased smile and nodded before continuing upstairs.

Spencer stayed silent for a long while, wanting to make sure the other man was asleep before he even made a peep. He didn't know what time it was when the dams broke and a sob ripped through him. 

He had faith in his team, he trusted them with his life, but they hadn't been anywhere near finding George or the house when Eric had killed that man and he didn't think that they would have caught him if he hadn't of done so. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it out of this one. He didn't know how long he was going to have to play along with this killer, how long he was going to have to pretend to like this man. He didn't know if he'd have long term effects from the experience, what if he actually came to love this man? He knew that Stockholm Syndrome was extremely rare but the fear remained. 

Tears rolled down his cheeks, he lowered himself back onto the couch and dragged one of the blankets over himself. Eventually, he fell into a restless sleep. 

\----

The next morning was strange for Spencer. For a split sleepy second, he thought he was at home. But the light press to his lips brought that fantasy crashing down. He took a deep breath to calm himself and slowly opened his eyes. Dread filled his heart when his eyes landed on George. 

"Morning." George said. Spencer forced himself to smile and sat up. 

"I'll make you breakfast, what do you want?" George thought about it for a moment. 

"Pancakes." Spencer nodded and stood but then he froze. 

"I-I don't know how." George nodded and lead him to the kitchen. 

"I'll show you this time, but after that I expect you to know." George said sternly. 

"Of course." Spencer agreed quickly. Spencer followed the instructions given to the T. 

"Are you going to join me?" George asked as he dug in. Spencer distracted himself by starting to wash up. 

"No, I'll eat when you're at work. I wanted to get started on cleaning the kitchen." Spencer closed his eyes and hoped that he had said the right thing. He wasn't hungry and he didn't think he could force anything down without it coming back up again.

"Good." He hummed. "I knew you'd be perfect." Spencer worked as slowly as he could without making George suspicious as the other man pottered around the house getting ready for work. 

The chains rattling with every movement was a constant reminder of where he was and what was happening.

"I'll see you later." George's voice came from behind him. Spencer swallowed and turned around, his hands coming up to rest on George's chest. George smiled down at him then pressed their lips together. "They'll see you soon too." He called out flippantly as he left the house. Spencer frowned, flinching with every lock George flicked shut. 

_They'll see you soon too._


	6. Chapter 6

The BAU had been sat in the conference room staring blankly at their boards for hours. Their nerves had been through the roof since the second they had realised that Reid had been taken. 

They were no closer to finding Eric's partner than when they first found Eric. And Eric refused to say anything against his partner, he just got angry whenever Reid was even mentioned. Which meant they had no leads for finding Reid. 

"Erm, family?" Garcia said hesitantly. She didn't want to break the tense silence in the room but it seemed important. 

"What is it?" Hotch asked. 

"I got sent an email, it's a link to a website." Garcia said quickly. 

"Why do you think it's relevant?" JJ asked. 

"Because the subject matter is Dr Spencer Reid." With that the team rushed to pull their chairs around Garcia so they could see the screen. She clicked the link when they were settled and tears filled her eyes. 

There, on the screen, was Reid. Chained to the floor and running around the house he was in desperately. The cameras switched automatically as Reid ran into different rooms; it almost seemed fake, staged. He was tugging on doors and windows in a futile attempt to escape. He rummaged through drawers and cupboards searching for something. They watched helplessly as Reid resorted to fighting against the chain on the floor, twisting his hands in painful ways to try and get free. 

"We gotta get him out of there." Morgan said, his voice deceptively calm. He swallowed thickly and blinked back tears. Reid had a moment of violent wrenching, pulling so hard it looked like he would dislocate his shoulders, before he threw himself back onto the floor and let the sobs wrack through him, wailing hopelessly. 

The sight of their youngest so distraught brought tears to everyone on the team, even Hotch. 

\----

Spencer was aching. He had been on the floor for he didn't know how long, just releasing all of the fear and anger he was feeling. His chest hurt, his throat felt raw and his head was pounding. 

He wanted his family. 

He wanted to feel safe. 

But there was no way out. 

He crawled his way back to the couch and curled up in a ball on it, burying himself in blankets. 

Spencer didn't even realise that he had fallen asleep until he was jolted awake by a firm grip in his hair, yanking him off the couch. Spencer gripped onto George's wrist to relieve some of the strain on his hair as he was dragged down the hall. He kicked his feet to try and find some friction so he could push himself along. 

"What is this?" George said. Spencer could feel the anger rolling off the other man. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Spencer begged. His apology earned him another slap to the face and George's large hand wrapping around his throat. 

"You said that I was all you needed." George said. "So, what is this?" He pointed to the mess of the house. Spencer hadn't had time to clean up before George got home. 

"A-A lapse in judgement. A mistake! You were gone and I stupidly thought that I needed my family but you're back now. You're back and-and I know you're all I need!" Spencer rushed out. George's grip tightened momentarily as he considered Spencer's words. Spencer panicked as he struggled to take in a full breath. "Please," He gasped, clawing at George's hand. 

George released Spencer, the young profiler collapsed gasping. Still fighting for breath, Spencer was pulled back to the living room by a bruising grip on his arm. He was dropped onto the couch, still trying to catch his breath. George handed Spencer a glass of water and encouraged him to drink. 

"Sips." Spencer obeyed and sipped the water. "Good boy. I'm sorry for hurting you. I just got so mad, I thought you were trying to leave." Spencer shook his head but didn't speak. He finished his water and slumped back on the couch. "How are you?" 

"Better. Thank you." Spencer said. George smiled and he cupped the back of Spencer's head. He joined their lips together in an apologetic kiss. And Spencer reciprocated, not knowing that, 317 miles away, his team, his _family_ , was watching in disbelief. 


	7. Chapter 7

97 hours, 43 minutes and... 12 seconds. 

That's how long he had been trapped in that house. 

The most peaceful moments were while George was at work. When George was home, he was unpredictable. He'd be perfectly calm then violently angry. 

And he was trying to keep his faith in the BAU but it was getting more difficult with every passing hour. With every developing bruise left by George. With every time he had to kiss George like he meant it. 

Currently, he was leaning against George and reading over his shoulder. The man read infuriatingly slowly but he made do. 

"What do you you think they're thinking?" George asked suddenly. His hand ran through Spencer's hair 'comfortingly'.

"Who?" He asked in genuine confusion.

"Your family... the B. A. U." He replied in disdain. Spencer sat up in shock. 

"What?" George raised an eyebrow in warning. "I hadn't even thought of them." 

"Is that right?" Spencer nodded quickly. 

"Why would I think about them? I have you." He forced out with a small smile. 

Truthfully, he spent every waking moment thinking about the team. Hoping that they had been working day and night to find him; following potential leads, speaking to Eric, tracking. Unbeknownst to him, they had been doing exactly that. 

\----

Morgan had been staring at Garcia's laptop screen for hours. They had been taking shifts so that someone was always watching the stream, so that Reid was never alone. 

Morgan didn't know what was worse, watching Reid get beaten by the man or watching him kiss the man. 

A hand on his shoulder brought him away from his thoughts.

"We're going to find him, right?" Garcia asked. She was handling the situation surprisingly well, despite the perpetual tears in her eyes and wavering in her voice. 

"I hope so." Morgan answered honestly. "We have no helpful leads. He never shows enough of his face on the damn camera for you to run it, so we still don't know his name, let alone his address, and Eric won't say a word." Their attention turned back to the screen just as the man walked out of the door, the same time as every other day. Reid stayed still for 10 minutes, seemingly to make sure that George had left for work. Then, in a flash of movement, Reid was up and searching through the rooms. 

It was different to the first time; the first time he didn't know how long he had and he was desperate, this time he knew when the man returned from work and that he could be thorough and meticulous in his search. 

It was a few hours before Reid started his search of the living room, having found nothing in the other rooms. He slowly worked his way through the bookcases. Morgan and Garcia saw the exact moment that Reid spotted the camera; his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out what it was then his eyes widened. 

"Call them back." Morgan said to Garcia. He sat up, his eyes glued to the stream. 

Spencer ran back to the study when he noticed the camera on the bookcase. His foot caught in the chain in his haste and he fell to the floor but he didn't let it stop him, he scrambled back to his feet and grabbed a pen and some paper. He hoped and prayed that the camera's feed was being sent to his team, or at least the police. 

_I'm ok_

_I don't know where I am_

He held the paper up to the camera, shaking with the hope that someone would see. After a few minutes, his arms dropped and his eyes burned with tears. Spencer shoved the paper and the pen under the couch cushion before he sat down. He clasped his hands together and stared out of the window. 

So many bad thoughts had crossed his mind.

His cravings had returned ten fold and he couldn't retreat into his mind for much longer. 

He thought of reading with JJ or Penelope in the quiet moments, remembering the women for the feeling of comfort he felt when he was with them. 

He thought of the conversations he had with Emily when he ate, not that he ate all that much, remembering the ease of talking to her. 

He thought of Hotch and Rossi at night, when George went to bed and left him alone in the dark, the thought of the older men helped to ease any fear he felt of his surroundings. 

Thinking of Derek usually helped to squash the bitter bite of disgust whenever he was forced to kiss George. Whenever George touched him. But the touches were becoming more adventurous and the kisses were becoming deeper and he was struggling to convince himself he could ever have that with Derek. 

Now, when he tried to distract himself with the older profiler, his mind would chase the nice fantasies with the harsh reality that Derek was, and always had been, a ladies man. Derek had loved flirting with women for as long as Spencer had known him. Spencer figured that any potential feelings towards men may be pushed back because of Carl Buford, but he didn't think that Derek would ever find him attractive, even if he was attracted to men. 

His mind was racing now, telling him every possible reason that Derek would never want to be with him. Every now and then, he'd remember moments when Derek had made his heart beat faster and his stomach flutter; when he stared for just a second too long, when he left his hand on Spencer after patting his back or messing up his hair, when he brought him food or coffee, when he was fiercely protective. But he didn't want to lose himself in 'what-if's. 

Spencer sat stock still on the couch, staring blankly out of the window at the garden outside. He remained there, barely blinking, until a light touch to his shoulder startled him.

"Just me." A low voice said. Spencer wet his lips nervously and swallowed. He tipped his head to lean against the hand. The hand moved slowly to gently run its fingers over Spencer's jaw. Spencer took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face before leaning his head back to look at the man behind him.

"I-I missed you today, how was your day?" He asked, barely controlling the wavering in his voice. The other man smiled softly and remained silent for a moment as he watched his hand trace Spencer's features.

"It was good, very... relieving." The man sighed. Spencer nodded, swallowing again, then pressed a shaky kiss to the hand on his face.

"That's good." Spencer agreed. His fingers automatically found the nearest thing to fiddle with, anything to try and calm himself. "What... what would you like to eat?" The hand slid up further and tangled in his hair, pulling slightly.

"What did you do?" Spencer pointed to the books on the coffee table. "Whatever you want to make is fine." Spencer bit his bottom lip lightly and nodded. Once the hand released his hair, Spencer stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

Spencer squeezed his eyes shut to try and stop the tears from flowing. He could almost hear his heart pounding but the chains dragging across the floor drowned out anything else. Except _his_ voice.

"Didn't I tell you it would be easier when you don't fight." Spencer nodded and started making dinner mindlessly. He figured if he didn't think about what was happening then it would hurt less. 

He tried to retreat into his mind further when George wrapped his arms around his waist. Spencer laid the knife down and pushed the chopping board further onto the counter. He leant against the counter and squeezed his eyes shut. 

"I can wait, I think I'm hungry for something else right now." George said. Spencer assumed it was supposed to sound seductive but the words made his stomach drop. He reluctantly followed George back to the couch. "Lay down, Darlin'." Spencer did as he was told, biting his lip to stop and noises from escaping. He closed his eyes to try and shut out the feeling of George running his hands over his body. 

George bent down and began to press kisses to Spencer's neck. Spencer opened his tear filled eyes and looked away from the man over him, he couldn't stop the sob that ripped through him. George replaced his lips with his hand then kissed him roughly. As he had been doing, Spencer returned the kiss, though he didn't try to stop the tears from falling anymore. 

It was when George started to push his hands under Spencer's clothes that the young profiler started to panic. 

"No, no. I-I don't... I d-don't want that." Spencer mumbled weakly against George's mouth. 

"Huh?" George hummed as he leant back. The man didn't really pay attention to Spencer's refusal or wiggling. Spencer snapped when George started to tug his pants down. He pushed at George's hands, desperate to get him away. "What do you think you're doing?" George barked. Spencer was dragged from the couch and slammed into the bookcase. George grabbed the chain and looped it around Spencer's neck once then pulled just enough to limit his oxygen supply. 

Spencer tried to claw at the chain but he couldn't get his fingers between the chain and his neck. 


	8. Chapter 8

Back at the police station, Morgan and Garcia were on the edge of their seats as they watched the man take his anger out on Reid. 

The camera had shifted when Spencer was slammed into it. At first, neither of them noticed anything, they were too focused on Reid but, when Garcia looked away to wipe her eyes, she noticed something that hadn't been in view before and for good reason. There was a window that had been strategically left out of every camera angle, and there was a truck parked outside of it. 

"Morgan." Garcia said seriously. 

"It's ok, he's strong." Morgan tried absently, not even believing his own words. 

"No, there's a truck." She said. She pulled the laptop towards her and began typing furiously. 

"Hotch, it's Morgan." Morgan had called the other man as soon as Garcia had pointed out the truck. "The camera was moved and we can see a truck. Garcia is running the plates now."

"The truck belongs to a George Markson. Sending the address now." Hotch thanked her when he received the address then hung up. Leaving Garcia and Morgan to watch Reid helplessly.

\----

Reid had never felt so vulnerable. He was thanking every deity he could think of that George had been too angry to even think about continuing down a sexual path. 

He curled into a corner as soon as George had dissappeared upstairs. The chains were cutting into his wrists but the pain there was nothing compared to the pain George had just inflicted. He sobbed silently into his arms, George had told him that if he heard even a peep out of Spencer then he'd come downstairs and finish the job. And Spencer believed him. 

Eventually, he succumbed to the exhaustion and fell asleep in the corner. 

A loud bang and shouting startled Spencer awake and he immediately scrambled back into the corner. He'd been awoken suddenly too many times over the past few days to think anything good would come from it. He was momentarily blinded by light that flashed in his face but he could hear boots on the floor. 

"Reid... Reid, where is he?" Said a voice from beside him. Spencer blinked against the lights and turned to the source of the familiar voice. 

"H-Hotch?" He muttered in disbelief. He frowned and looked over Hotch's features for a moment, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was actually seeing the man. Hotch holstered his gun and held Spencer's face in his hands. 

"Spencer, where is he?" Spencer nodded to gather his thoughts then pointed a shaky hand towards the stairs. "He's upstairs, I'll stay with Reid." The bright lights and footsteps disappeared up the stairs. Spencer looked back to Hotch and broke down again. He dropped himself against Hotch, relief coursing through his body. "You're safe." Hotch murmured comfortingly. "We need medical." He said into his radio. "Where are the keys?" Spencer's focus turned to the metal cuffs on his wrist. He tugged gently to begin with but, when they didn't magically pop open, he became more frantic. "Reid, Reid, stop." Hotch held his hands still and bent to catch Spencer's eyes. 

"Get me out." Spencer begged. Hotch met Spencer's wet eyes and his heart broke for the man. 

"We're going to get you out." The thumping of boots came thundering downstairs along with the shouts of a furious man. 

"What did you do?" George bellowed. Spencer cowered into Hotch. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it wasn't me! I didn't do anything." He called after the man. JJ and Prentiss knelt beside Spencer, offering their comforts as he cried. 

"Did you find the key?" Hotch called into the house. Spencer wasn't sure who he was talking too but he hadn't been paying attention to anyone but Hotch since they had arrived. 

"I have a bunch of keys." Spencer frowned and turned to the voice. Rossi wandered into the living room with a handful of keys. 

"We'll try all of them." Hotch said definitively. JJ shifted to sit next to Spencer, she guided him into her arms and smoothed his hair back. He wanted to clutch onto her to reassure himself that they were really there, that he hadn't lost his mind, but Hotch was holding his hands while Rossi tried the keys. 

Spencer closed his eyes and buried his face into JJ, like a child looking for comfort from his mother after a bad dream. He tried to control his breathing, to focus on JJ's soothing voice and her very real body against him, rather than the pain in his body. 

The very second Spencer felt the tight cuffs release his wrists, he threw his arms around JJ and curled closer to her. 

Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss watched their youngest member sadly. The man managed to make himself look so small, so innocent. 

"JJ, why don't you go with him to the hospital?" Hotch suggested softly. He could see that Spencer didn't want to let go of her. "We'll get Morgan and Garcia then meet you there." He waved the paramedics forward. 

After a brief panic at the foreign touch of a paramedic, JJ carefully stood with Spencer and guided him out to the ambulance. 

\----

JJ couldn't stop tears welling in her eyes at the sight of Spencer in a hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting him to IV's and machines. She held his hand tightly, telling herself that it was so Spencer would know she was there but she needed to know that _he_ was there. 

She had been present for his examination, he hadn't wanted her to leave, and so she had seen all the damage George Markson had done to their poor Boy Genius; his torso was black and blue, he had broken ribs, bruises around his arms, thighs and neck, his face was bruised and there were deep cuts on his wrists where the cuffs had been. JJ stroked over Spencer's bandaged wrists lightly and closed her eyes to curb the tears, she wanted to be strong for him. 

"JJ?" Spencer croaked. Her eyes snapped up to him. He sent her a weak smile and held onto her hand. 

"Hey," She whispered, "Hey Spence, how are you feeling?" He took a few shallow breaths and surveyed the room. 

"Hurts." He said when he saw they were the only ones there. JJ's face softened affectionately and she moved her hand to stroke his hair. 

"You're safe now." JJ promised. Spencer nodded, his face scrunching up as he tried to stop tears of his own. "Are you ready to see anyone or do you need some time?" 

"I want to see them." He whispered. With a small smile and a light kiss to his forehead, JJ got up to call the team into the room. While the room was empty, Spencer took the opportunity to cry. 

His body was aching, his throat was raw and he was finding it hard to breathe. He shifted uncomfortably then quickly wiped his face as the door began to open. 

JJ returned to her place beside him, taking his hand again, and the others filtered in. Penelope was the first to reach him. She tentatively wrapped his arms around him before she cupped his face gently. 

"Hi." She said with a watery smile. Spencer returned the smile, he had never been happier to see his family's faces. Tears spilled down Penelope's cheeks as she looked over his injuries but she forced a grin and pulled a chair up to his bedside. 

Everyone readily took their turn in giving Spencer a hug, a few were slightly too tight but he couldn't find it in him to complain. 

"Will is coming with the kids later." JJ said when everyone was settled. The nurse had brought in some more chairs so they could all sit. Spencer closed his eyes, basking in the sound of his friends talking to one another. A content smile found its way onto his lips. 

"Uncle Spencer!" Small voices shouted a while later. Spencer's eyes landed on Henry and Jack. 

"Hi." He said as brightly as he could, his whole face lighting up. The kids scrambled up onto his hospital bed and gave their uncle surprisingly gentle hugs. They both got themselves comfortable against Spencer and Jack rummaged in his bag. He pulled out a few pieces of paper. 

"These are for you." Jack said. Spencer flipped through them, his heart warmed. They depicted Spencer with each of the boys, or fighting bad guys, or with the team. 

"Thank you, I love them." He pulled them both into tight hugs, uncaring of the stabbing pain he felt when he did. 

"Will you put them with the others?" Henry asked. 

"Of course, I will." The boys grinned happily then pulled various toys out of their bags and started to play. 

"What's the verdict?" Will asked. The team stopped their conversations and turned to JJ, they hadn't asked before but not for lack of curiosity. JJ turned to Spencer to get his ok before she told them.

"He was dehydrated and he's not been eating. He had an x-ray, and he has 5 broken ribs. His wrists had been cut up pretty bad from the cuffs. The rest is bad bruises." She kept her voice low so the children wouldn't hear her over their playing. Aaron's gaze darkened in anger as he looked over Spencer but he relaxed slightly at the sight of him playing with Jack and Henry. 

"I'm ok." Spencer muttered to them, he had felt their worried gaze on him. They eventually turned back to their separate conversations.

"Uncle Spencer fell asleep." Henry said to the room. The adults looked to Spencer; his hands were still holding the toys he'd had and he had a relaxed smile on his face as he slept. 

"He's been through a lot." Rossi said in answer to Henry. 

"Come on, we should let him rest." JJ said softly. She carefully lifted Henry off the bed. Jack slowly slid off the bed too and joined his dad by the door. Both boys saying quiet goodbyes to the sleeping man.

"I-I'm gonna stay a bit longer." Derek announced as the team were getting ready to leave. Penelope watched from her place next to Spencer as Rossi raised an eyebrow at Derek then turned her attention to the pictures the boys had drawn. When the team was gone, Derek took JJ's seat and leant on the bed. 

"He's ok." Penelope said. Derek nodded, his eyes never straying from Spencer.

"He doesn't deserve this." Penelope nodded sadly. She eased the toys out of the sleeping man's hand and replaced them with her hand. 

"I'm going to find him some Jell-O for when he wakes up." Penelope said while she stood some of her favourite figurines on Spencer's table. Derek smiled at her and followed her with his eyes as she left. Once he was sure that they'd be alone for a while, Derek slid his hand into Spencer's. 

Guilt stirred thoughts in his mind as he watched Spencer sleep. He couldn't help but think that, if he was paying more attention at the crime scene, he would have noticed that there was someone else in the house. Derek lifted his hand to hover over Spencer's injured face and neck, he wanted to sooth the pain but he knew he couldn't. 

He didn't know how long he had been watching Spencer when the younger man's face started to twitch, though he wasn't waking. Spencer's eyebrows furrowed and tears slipped through his closed eyes. 

"Wake up." Derek said, shaking Spencer as gently as he could while still enough to wake him up. Spencer startled out of his sleep, his eyes darting around the room before they fell on Derek and he slumped back. He tried to calm himself but he couldn't take a deep enough breath to convince himself that he was safe. 

"Get the nurse." Spencer demanded. "Please." Derek frowned but did so. 

"How can I help you, sir?" The nurse asked with an easy smile. 

"Everything hurts, I-I need morphine." Spencer said seriously, tears still drying on his cheeks. Derek's head snapped towards him. 

"No." He held his hand up to the nurse, stopping her from leaving to get the drug. 

"I need it." Spencer argued determinedly. Derek shook his head.

"No, you've been clean. You don't need it." Derek said, his voice firm and holding underlying anger. The nurse looked between them and took a tentative step towards the bed so she could look at his chart. 

"I'm sorry, sir, but it does say that we aren't to give you any opioid painkillers." She said. Spencer slammed his hand against the bed and threw his head back. 

"Please, I _need_ something. Morphine, oxycodone, tramadol, anything. I don't care. Just give me something." Spencer demanded. Derek clenched his jaw angrily, he wasn't sure if he was angry at George for making Spencer feel this way or at Spencer for giving in to his cravings. 

"Sir, I'm not allowed to give you that. The best I can do is ibuprofen." She tried. Spencer bit his lip and shook his head. 

"Ibuprofen isn't going to do anything to alleviate my pain, it will barely take the edge off." He said through clenched teeth. "I need something stronger, I need the pain to go away, I need it." Even as he was talking, he could feel the pain in his chest rising, his throat was raw and aching. "Please." Spencer sobbed. "I just want it to go away." 

"I'm really sorry, I can't give you anything stronger." The nurse said sympathetically. Spencer turned his face away from her but he nodded. 

"I know." He whispered. "I'm sorry." The nurse smiled sadly and moved to check his drips. 

"It's alright, sir, I know this is difficult." She said. After checking on his injuries, the nurse left the room quietly. 

"What the hell was that?" Derek asked. Spencer closed his eyes, his eyebrows pinched at the strain of his ribs. "Reid." Spencer stubbornly ignored the other agent. "Spencer, stop acting like a child." 

"This is hard enough as it is, I don't need you scolding me." Spencer replied, not bothering to open his eyes. He was embarrassed by his weakness, by his need for relief. 

"Are you kidding me?" Derek tried. 

"If all you're going to do is judge me then please leave," Spencer whispered.

"I'm not- I don't- I'm not judging you." Derek said. He stepped back to stand at the side of the bed and attempted to take Spencer's hand but the younger man snatched it away. 

"That's what it sounds like." Spencer tried to shift his body away from Derek but his ribs screamed at him to lay back. 

"You've worked too hard to get and stay clean, you can't let this one man take that all away." Derek said as he sat down. He wanted to take Spencer's hand again, to comfort him, but he didn't think that Spencer would allow it right now. 

"It's not like I'm getting it anyway, is it?!" Spencer snapped. He took a breath, as deep as he could before the pain was unbareable, and then looked at the table in front of him. The figurines were obviously from Penelope, but Jack and Henry's toys were standing proudly next to them, along with the drawings. "I don't need to be told that I don't need the drugs. I'm well aware that it won't make everything ok, that it will just numb everything and that's what I want. I want to forget, I want to lose myself in my mind. I don't want to feel what he did to me, I don't want to remember how willingly I did as he wanted, I don't want to remember feeling so hopeless. So, please, don't try and make it all better by telling me I worked hard to get here when I don't even want to be here right now." Spencer's voice wavered in his attempt to sound strong. Derek's face twisted in concern. 

"What do you mean?" He didn't like the sound of where Spencer's mind was. 

"I don't want to die if that's what you're thinking. I just want to escape the pain and the memories." Spencer said softly. He swallowed and wet his lips before he turned to look at Derek. 

"You did what you had to do to stay alive." Spencer reached out to take Derek's hand and patted it. 

"I know I did. But that doesn't make it any easier." Derek took Spencer's chin in his thumb and forefinger to guide the man to look at him. 

"No-one thinks any less of you because you humoured that man." He said. Spencer looked into Derek's eyes, searching for a lie. When he found honesty, he relaxed into Derek's touch. 

"You're awake." Spencer felt instantly better at the sight of Penelope entering his hospital room. "I brought you Jell-O and your favourite donuts; chocolate frosting and sprinkles. And, of course, I brought you some coffee flavoured sugar." She said with a grin. She laid the bag of food on the table and handed him the coffee cup. Spencer smiled and took a little sip of the coffee. 

"Thank you." He said softly. 

"It's my job to take care of you guys." She shrugged with a pleased smile. She shuffled her way back to her seat. "Everything ok?" She asked, looking between the two men. 

"Everything is fine." Derek nodded after clearing his throat. Spencer threw him a shy glance. 

"Don't worry, Chocolate Thunder, I got you a coffee too." She handed him a cup with one of her easy smiles. Spencer watched them carefully, George's words in the forefront of his mind. 

_Doesn't it bother you?  
_ _Him flirting with someone else._

No, it didn't. Even if he thought he had a slither of a chance with Derek, he knew that the relationship Derek had with Penelope wouldn't be an issue because that's just how they were together; perhaps it had started with hope on one side that they'd end up together but now it was just comfortable. 

"I changed my mind." Spencer said quietly, his head turned to Derek. The other man frowned and pushed Spencer's hair out of the way. 

"About what?" He asked. Spencer took in the expression on Derek's face. 

"I'll take whatever they'll give me." Derek kept running his hand through Spencer's hair and then nodded. 

"Ok. I'll be right back." Penelope sat back in her chair, observing Derek as he left the room before she pounced. 

"What's going on between you two?" She asked. Spencer frowned, stuffing a donut in his mouth as an excuse to not answer her. "Come on, genius, spill the beans." 

"There are no beans to spill." Spencer said, with a wave of his hand. Penelope clicked her tongue in disbelief and fixed him with a stare. "There isn't!" He insisted. 

"You think no-one notices the way you look at each other?" She tried. Spencer started to shake his head but then what Penelope said registered in his head. 

"Each other? What do you mean?" Penelope rolled her eyes and leant on the bed. 

"Like you don't know." She said incredulously but, as she looked at Spencer's confused face, she realised. "Oh, you don't know." Spencer pressed his lips together and shook his head. "But you do like him, right?" Spencer released a tumble of words, spewing random statistics that weren't even relevant to the question. "Spence." She said to get his attention. 

"Yes?" He said simply, his cheeks flaming red. Penelope chuckled and cupped his cheek fondly. 

"You like him?" She reiterated. 

"Of course, I like him. Studies have shown..." Spencer started but Penelope clamped her hand over his mouth to stop him in his tracks. 

"No, I know you like him. I mean, do you _like_ him?" After a quiet moment, Spencer hesitantly nodded his head. Penelope squealed excitedly and took his hands, apologising when he winced. 

"Not that it matters." Spencer muttered. Before Penelope could answer his despondent response, Derek re-entered the room with a nurse. Derek immediately sat back down next to Spencer. Penelope smirked when she saw Derek start to reach for Spencer's hand, only dropping it to the bed when he saw that Penelope was still holding Spencer's hands. Spencer caught the smirk and shook his head at her with a tender smile on his face. 

"Here you go, sir." The nurse said as she handed him two pills and a cup of water. "I'm sorry that I can't give you anything stronger." Spencer smiled politely and took the pills. 

"It's not your fault." He dismissed. The nurse returned the smile then left without another word. 

Derek sat back on his chair, his eyes trained on Spencer as he and Penelope fell down a Doctor Who hole that he didn't really understand. Penelope kept peering at him as they spoke, he didn't know why but he just assumed it was because he couldn't join their conversation. 

It wasn't long before Spencer's answers were fewer, his breathing evened out and his eyes began to slip closed. 

"I'm so glad he's ok." Penelope murmured. Derek huffed a laugh and nodded. 

"Me too." He grumbled. He leant his elbows on Spencer's bed and rested his chin on his hands, still just watching the younger man. 

The next time Spencer opened his eyes, Aaron had replaced Derek in the seat on his left. Penelope, of course, was still in her place, asleep. 

"How are you feeling?" Aaron asked, keeping his voice low so he didn't wake Penelope up. 

"Not great." Spencer groaned. Aaron's face softened sympathetically. 

"You have two weeks off but if you need more time then you can have it." He said. "We'll consult you on cases, I know you'd go insane without them." Spencer smiled at the fondness in Aaron's voice. 

"Thank you." He said. Aaron patted his shoulder and reached out to take one of Spencer's donuts. Suddenly, Penelope's hand was clutching his hand. 

"When it's you in the hospital bed, you can have your favourite treat. Until then..." She said firmly. Spencer laughed. Aaron looked at her tentatively, his eyes flicking to Spencer, then he pulled his hand back. "I'm taking you home when they discharge you and we are going to have a little marathon." 

"He really shouldn't..." Aaron cut himself off when they laughed. "What?"

"She doesn't mean running. She means a TV marathon." Spencer corrected him. Aaron made a noise of realisation and leant back. 

"The doctor came by when you were sleeping and said you may be discharged tomorrow." He said. Spencer nodded and took a steadying breath. A deep frown marred his face as memories forced their way into his mind. Aaron laid a comforting hand on Spencer's shoulder to try and bring him back to the present. His vistors watched on sadly as Spencer raised his hand to lightly run his fingertips over his bruised neck. 

"I want to go home." Spencer whispered. 

"Well, you're going home tomorrow." Aaron said. "I had Derek stop by your apartment and grab some books." He pulled the books out of a tote bag then laid them on the table, careful to keep them away from the food there. 

"Thank you." Spencer slid a book into his lap and began to read without another word. 


	9. Chapter 9

"You ready to go, Pretty Boy?" Spencer groaned and lifted his hands to rub his eyes. Derek chuckled and held his hand out to help Spencer get off the bed. "I was gone for two minutes." He said. Spencer smiled shyly. "You can sleep when we get you home." Spencer nodded and looked around the room to see if they had missed anything. He picked up his messenger bag and winced as he lifted his arm to put it over his head. Derek quickly took the bag from him.

"Did you get everything?" Spencer asked, just to be sure. Derek smiled and caught the younger man's eye. 

"I got everything." He said certainly. "Come on, I know you want to get home." Spencer slowly followed Derek out to the car.

The ride back to his apartment was quiet besides the music coming from the radio. Spencer relaxed into his seat, content to be out of the hospital. Occasional pot holes made Spencer gasp in pain but the journey was relatively smooth. 

Derek carried all of Spencer's things up to his apartment, much to Spencer's dislike. He didn't like feeling useless but he knew that he couldn't really carry any of it either. 

"You get yourself into bed, I'll get you something to eat." Derek ordered gently. Spencer rolled his eyes but he couldn't stop the small smile. He did as he was told and carefully laid in his bed. Derek entered his bedroom a few minutes later and tugged the covers over Spencer. He dragged the chair that was in the room up next to the bed. Spencer shifted a few times to try and get comfortable.

"You don't have to stay with me." Spencer said softly. Derek smiled and leant forward to stroke his hand through Spencer's hair. 

"I'm not about to leave you here alone, Pretty Boy." Spencer closed his eyes and rested his head facing the other man. "Besides, Penelope would kill me on the spot if I left you." Spencer reached out weakly, his hand shaking, and took hold of Derek's free hand. "She asked Hotch to work from here so she'll be here when I go to work." 

"Hotch said that I will be working from here too." Spencer said. Derek hummed but said nothing. He had seen Spencer's eyes drooping so he kept his hand in the man's hair and rubbed his thumb over Spencer's knuckles. 

Spencer was breathing shallowly because of his ribs and he was relaxed in Derek's presence. Derek must have assumed that he was asleep because Spencer was sure he never would have done what he did next if he knew that Spencer was still awake. Spencer could feel Derek's eyes on him then he felt him move his hand, lightly running his fingers over the bruises before Spencer felt him shift and then the delicate press of lips against his injuries. He couldn't stop the content sigh, and he hoped that Derek would think it was a noise made during sleep. 

"Go to sleep, Spencer, I'll wake you up when the food gets here." Derek mumbled. Spencer was shocked to hear that his friend had known that he was awake but the calming movements of Derek's hand had him giving into unconsciousness. 

Spencer could hear Derek moving around his apartment as he woke up. He didn't move but he tilted his head slightly so he could see the room beyond his open bedroom door. 

"Hey, Pretty Boy." Derek greeted with a grin when he glanced into the bedroom and realised that Spencer was awake. "Good timing." Derek redirected himself to help Spencer get out of bed and pointed at the sofa. Spencer sent Derek a sweet smile when he was handed a loaded plate and a fork. "How are you feeling?" He was asked once they were settled. Spencer hadn't realised how hungry he had been until he was given good food, so he had a mouthful when the question was directed at him. Derek laughed at the man, who was looking at him wide-eyed and trying to chew faster so he could answer. 

"Sore." He said eventually, a blush colouring his cheeks. Derek lost himself in gazing at the man affectionately for a moment. 

"Well, hopefully, those bruises won't be covering that pretty face of yours for much longer." Derek said flippantly just before he continued eating. The blush in Spencer's cheeks deepened and his hands poked lightly at his own cheeks, flinching when he pushed too hard. 

"The ones on my neck will last longer." Spencer said sadly. "He liked to choke me more than hitting me." He whispered, his hand slipping up to curl around his neck. Derek gently pulled the hand away and held it in his own. 

"He can't hurt you anymore." He said softly. Spencer nodded and closed his eyes briefly. 

"He's still hurting me." Spencer murmured. Derek frowned and stroked some of the bruises with the back of his fingers. 

"They'll go away. You'll be able to breathe properly again soon." Derek reassured. "You're not alone in this." Spencer looked at Derek, his eyes almost pleading. Derek cupped Spencer's jaw and looked him in the eyes. "Someone is going to be with you at all times." 

"Would-Would you?" Spencer stuttered. 

"Would I what, Pretty Boy?" Derek prompted. Spencer bit his lip nervously and glanced around the room.

"Would you stay?" He said, his voice barely audible. Derek's expression softened and he just stared at Spencer. "Just when you don't have to work." He added quickly. 

"Of course, I will." Spencer nodded, his face lighting up a little. He turned back to his food, feeling slightly disappointed when Derek's hand fell from his face. 

A few hours later, when the sky was turning dark, Spencer felt peaceful. He had found a position on the couch that didn't hurt his ribs too much, where he could see Derek's laptop screen and the book in his lap. Derek watched Spencer for a moment then tentatively lifted his arm to rest it behind Spencer's head. The younger man turned his head towards him, not looking at him, then moved to rest against Derek's side, praying that the other man wouldn't push him away. 

"You tired?" Derek said, his voice low to fit the relaxed atmoshere. Spencer shook his head but nuzzled closer, ignoring how hard his heart was beating. Derek looped his arm around him and turned to press a quick kiss to Spencer's hair. 

Spencer was annoyed at himself when he found himself being rocked awake. He hadn't wanted to fall asleep but he had been so exhausted since the team had found him. The house was even darker than he last remembered so he must have been asleep for a few hours, hours he could have spent with Derek. 

"Hmm?" He grumbled, still half asleep. He felt a hand rubbing up and down his arm. 

"It's ok, I'm just letting you know that we got a case." Derek said quietly. Spencer instinctively turned towards the voice. The hand moved to his back. "I'll call you later,"

"A case?" Spencer slurred. 

"I'll call you later, we can talk about it then." Derek reiterated, a smile in his voice. "Go back to sleep, baby." 

"G'bye." Spencer sighed. He was already falling deeper into sleep when he felt a kiss on his forehead, though he thought it was a very vivid dream. 


	10. Chapter 10

Being around Penelope was draining. The case was running longer than the team expected, which meant that Spencer had been stuck in his apartment with her for going on 5 days now. He loved Penelope, he did, but he wasn't used to spending so much time with her and her eccentricities. 

He hated sleeping as much as he was needing to. The doctor had said that it was perfectly normal, considering what he went through, but that didn't stop him from hating it. And with Penelope wearing him out, he was asleep more than he was awake. 

He wasn't much help with the case. 

Aaron had told him not to worry about the case but he wanted to help, he wanted to do something other than sleep. 

His phone ringing loudly brought him back to the conscious world. He groaned and patted the bed until he found the phone.

"Reid." He answered. He laid back on his pillow. He hadn't really bothered even getting out of bed because of how often he needed sleep. 

"Hey, Pretty Boy." Derek greeted him happily. 

"How's the case?" He asked. He received a barked laugh in response. 

"We're getting somewhere. We got a strong lead." Derek said. There was a mumble of voices over the line then Derek spoke softly, clearly trying to keep those around him hearing. "How are you, sweetheart?" 

"Tired." He answered simply. He was glad that Derek couldn't see the dark blush on his cheeks and the small smile that he couldn't stop. 

"Did I wake you?" Derek asked. Spencer's smile widened at the concern in the man's voice. 

"Yeah, but I want to be awake." Spencer heard Derek sigh. 

"If your body is telling you to sleep then you should sleep." Spencer looked out of the window for a minute. 

"I know." He said. "When do you think you'll be back?" 

"I would say we'll be on the plane tonight but the Sheriff is a bit up his own ass about the case. He's been fighting us at every turn." Derek said, lowering his voice when he spoke of the Sheriff. Spencer giggled softly and shifted. 

"Will you wake me up when you get back?" Spencer could almost feel the gaze he was getting through the phone. 

"You not waiting up for me, Pretty Boy?" Spencer could hear the smile Derek had on his face. His heart fluttered excitedly at the teasing. 

"Try as I might, I have a feeling I'll be asleep." Spencer returned. 

"Get your sleep, baby. I'll be back soon." Spencer's stomach flipped in excitement and a giddy smile spread across his face. 

"Be safe." He mumbled. Annoyingly, his body was already telling him to sleep again. He barely noticed when Derek said goodbye and hung up. He was too focused on internally complaining about his inability to stay awake for more than half an hour.

He couldn't wrap his head around it; it had been a week since he had been rescued and he was still exhausted. His injuries weren't even that bad considering the outcome of George's other victims, they were tame in comparison. So, why couldn't he stay awake? Why did he feel so weak? With no answer in mind, he slipped back into a restless sleep. 

A comforting hand caressing his back gently roused him from sleep. Spencer took a deep breath, wincing through it, then blinked his eyes open. 

"You don't look too great." A voice commented from behind him. 

"You're back." Spencer said. 

"Are you feeling ok?" Derek asked. Spencer couldn't help but smile again at the concern the other man was showing. 

"I'm fine." Spencer answered instead. Derek frowned and used his free hand to tuck Spencer's hair behind his ear. 

"The truth?" He asked. Spencer swallowed and averted his eyes.

"I'm always tired and I feel like I can't move from here without falling." He finally answered. He watched carefully as Derek walked around the bed and sat next to him. 

"You look really pale." Derek said. Spencer frowned in thought then glanced up at the man through his eyelashes. Derek's heart melted at the look on Spencer's face. 

"I don't know what's wrong with me." Spencer whined. Derek ran his hand down Spencer's back again and watched him for a moment. 

"Do you want something to eat?" He asked. Spencer nodded. "Ok, come on. Let's get you to the bathroom, maybe you'll feel between once you shower." 

"I can't," Spencer started, "I can't stand that long." Despite hearing Spencer's hesitation, Derek continued towards the bathroom. He sat Spencer on the toilet after closing the lid then he turned the water on. 

"I'll help you." Derek replied easily. Spencer stuttered, his cheeks burning. 

"But-But I'll... But I'll be naked." Spencer argued weakly. Derek laughed at his protest as he checked the water temperature. 

"I'm well aware of that, Pretty Boy. I'll keep my eyes off the goods." Derek said. "I'm just going to be here to hold you up if you need me." Spencer nodded. He nervously started to pull his shirt over his head, thankful that Derek helped when he couldn't get it off. Spencer wrapped his arms around himself self-consciously and refused to look at Derek as the other man helped him out of his pants and briefs too. "Come on, Pretty Boy." Anger coursed through Derek's body at the sight of Spencer's; it had been a while but the bruises were still violently dark and Derek could see the overlapping hand shaped ones on his arms and thighs. 

"You're going to get wet." Spencer said as he stepped into the shower. 

"Don't worry about me." Spencer was right, though, Derek was stood behind him with his arm around his waist, fully clothed. Spencer sighed and resigned himself to washing with Derek there with him. Spencer closed his eyes in embarrassment when he washed below the belt. "It's ok." Derek whispered. Spencer shook his head. He was thankful for the water falling on his face in that moment. 

"Can you wash my hair?" Spencer asked softly, reluctantly. Derek hummed and stepped back. "What...?"

"It will be easier if you sit on the floor." Derek said in explanation. Spencer let himself be guided to the floor. It took all his energy to stay upright while Derek was grabbing the shampoo and he slumped when Derek sat next to him. 

"I feel like a child." Spencer whined while his hair was being washed. 

"Why?" Derek asked. Spencer shot Derek a half-hearted glare. 

"I can't do anything on my own, all I do is sleep and eat and go to the bathroom." Spencer explained. Derek frowned but focused on his task, he wasn't sure what to say to that. 

"Just focus on getting better." Derek said. Spencer closed his eyes and bowed his head. "You're done." Spencer leant heavily against Derek as he got out of the shower. "You just sit here, I'm going to get you some new clothes." Derek said as he wrapped a towel around Spencer. 

Spencer watched Derek leave the bathroom then he reclined against the toilet's water tank. It was uncomfortable but he was sleepy. 

He groaned loudly when he woke up again, he was sick of sleeping. He glanced around, confused; he wasn't in the bathroom anymore, he had been moved to the living room. 

"Derek?" Spencer grumbled as he woke up properly. 

"Hey." Derek greeted. Spencer started to sit up but he was gently pushed back down. 

"How...?" Spencer trailed off as he realised he was dressed again. 

"You fell asleep in the bathroom." Derek answered obviously. "I couldn't leave you there and I didn't want to wake you up." 

"You dressed me?" Spencer frowned but it smoothed out when Derek stroked his hand through his hair, something Spencer was noticing he was doing a lot. 

"And carried you out here." Derek eased himself between Spencer and the couch so that Spencer was sat up but still leaning on something. Derek handed Spencer a plate with a small amount of food on. They were silent as Spencer ate. 

"I'm tired again." Spencer said angrily. Derek chuckled and rubbed Spencer's arm comfortingly. "I think something is wrong." Derek's smile twisted into a frown. He moved Spencer's plate to the coffee table and shifted the man until they were facing each other. 

"What do you mean?" Derek asked. Spencer frowned. He hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts through the wave of fatigue. 

"I... I don't feel right." Derek opened his mouth to defend the man but Spencer shook his head. "It's not... It's not that. I should be healing, getting better, but I feel weak, and dizzy when I stand. I'm sleeping when I get tired, which is constantly. You said I looked pale." Spencer pressed his fingers into his eyes. 

"What do you need?" Derek asked softly. Spencer gazed outside. Derek could see his mind working. 

"I don't know what it could be." Spencer said with a whimper. He didn't like not knowing. 

"Do you think you need to get checked out?" Spencer chuckled and peeked up through his fingers at him.

"Maybe." He admitted. Derek nodded his ok and helped him stand, slowly to try and prevent Spencer from getting dizzy. 

The walk down to Derek's car was a slow one as was the walk from the hospital parking lot into the building. When they were nearing the reception desk, Spencer's legs gave out under him and he collapsed into Derek's arms. 

"It's ok, I got you." Derek said lowly as Spencer struggled to stand again. 

"Is everything ok, sir?" A nurse asked politely. Derek smiled at her and adjusted his grip on Spencer. 

"Is there somewhere I can lay him down?" He said looking around the room for a chair or empty bed. The nurse looked at them critically for a moment but jumped into action when she noticed that Spencer was fighting to stay awake. 

"I'm Tina. Are you aware of his condition?" The nurse questioned while Derek laid the barely conscious genius on a spare bed. "Can you tell me what the problem is?" She elaborated when Derek looked at her confused. 

"He told me that he keeps getting dizzy if he stands too fast, he's been weak as you saw and he has been sleeping constantly, can barely stay awake long enough to eat." Derek explained. The nurse nodded and noted everything down. She was quiet as she looked over Spencer. 

"How long has he said he feels this way?" Derek sighed and took Spencer's hand in his. 

"He was in hospital a week or so ago, and he's been tired ever since then. He only told me about the dizziness and the weakness earlier." Derek remembered. "We just thought that he was recovering but he thought something was wrong." 

"Has he been eating?" She checked his pulse then waved another nurse over. 

"Yeah, I made sure that he was woken up regularly to eat." Derek said. 

"Ok, this nurse is going to stay with you while I get his records and talk to a doctor." The nurse said with a reassuring smile. "What's his name?" 

"Spencer, Dr. Spencer Reid." Derek answered automatically, his mind already focused back on the sleeping genius. He was vaguely aware of Tina walking away and another nurse joining them. 

"Hello, I'm Amanda." She greeted softly. Derek didn't answer but she seemed to understand that his mind was elsewhere. 

"D'rek?" Spencer slurred. Derek immediately bent closer to him and lightly moved his hair out of his face. 

"It's ok. You're ok." He murmured. Spencer frowned, his eyes flitting around the bright room. 

"Ah, Mr Reid, you're awake." A new voice announced. 

"Dr." Spencer corrected. Derek smiled at the correction and turned to the doctor. 

"Yes, I'm Doctor Hathen." The doctor introduced. Spencer shook his head. "Mr Reid, we're going to run a complete blood count to try and determine what may be the problem." 

"Dr." Spencer corrected again. Doctor Hathen frowned in confusion and looked to Derek for an explanation. 

"It's Dr. Reid., not Mister." Derek said with a smile. 

"My apologies, Dr. Reid." Doctor Hathen said with a nod. He glanced down at Spencer's chart and nodded again. "Ok, Amanda here is going to take some blood for the test. We'll get the results back to you as quick as we can." 

"Thank you." Derek said for Spencer when the other man didn't answer. The doctor watched Spencer for a moment then nodded once before walking away, handing Amanda the chart as he walked by. 

"Sir, I'm just going to get what I need for the blood test, I'll be right back." Amanda said. Derek looked around quickly and dragged a chair up to Spencer's side. Derek was startled out of his thoughts by his phone ringing loudly. 

"Morgan." He answered. Spencer frowned and shifted towards the man sleepily. "Another one already?... I can't... Hotch, I can't leave Spencer... No, we're at the hospital... He's ok, he's having some blood tests... Ok." Spencer listened to Derek's side of the conversation and was surprised to feel the phone being pressed against his ear. 

"...'Lo?" Spencer grumbled. 

"Reid, are you ok?" Aaron asked urgently. 

"Yeah, I-I... I just knew something was wrong." Spencer answered. 

"You're still sleeping a lot?" Aaron's voice softened into something akin to parental concern. 

"Yeah." Spencer agreed. Aaron hummed on the other end. 

"Ok, Morgan can stay with you, you can both consult from home, I'll text you both the details. Let me know what the blood tests say ok?" Aaron said. Spencer smiled to himself and looked up at Derek. 

"Will do." Spencer promised. Spencer was acutely aware of Aaron continue to talk but he was drifting again. 

"How is he with needles?" Spencer heard as he refocused on the world. 

"He's fine." He heard Derek reply, it sounded like he was talking through his teeth. Spencer frowned but relaxed back into the bed as he felt the tourniqet tighten around his arm. 

"Wait, no." He snapped up in a burst of energy. Amanda looked at him with wide eyes. "I can't... No..." He began to nervously scratch at the inside of his left arm. 

"She's just going to take some blood for the tests." Derek said taking Spencer's hand in his to stop the scratching. Spencer took some shallow breaths and focused on the supplies the nurse had laid out on the table. He nodded and offered his arm back to the nurse. Derek held his hand while the nurse took his blood, smiling at the sleepy but adoring look Spencer was giving him. 

"How long do we have to be here?" Spencer asked. Derek watched him sympathetically as he tried to bury his face into the pillow to get comfy. 

"I don't know, sweetheart." He said softly. Spencer shifted closer to Derek, wincing when he bent too much, and nuzzled his face into Derek's shirt. The older profiler watched as Spencer's body relaxed into sleep. 

It was a long few hours for Derek as he waited for Spencer's results; Spencer was sleeping through it and it wasn't like he had predicted the wait and brought something to entertain himself. But eventually, the nurse returned. 

"Sir?" She said. She approached them tentatively, clearly not wanting to wake Spencer up. 

"Yes?" Derek replied for him. 

"We got the results back and we think that he has iron-deficiency anemia." She said. Derek nodded seriously. "His iron levels were low. The doctor has decided to prescribe him iron suppliments and I compiled a list of iron rich foods that should help his levels get back to normal." Derek took the list greatfully and thanked her. "You should bring him back in a few weeks to make sure that his levels are normalising but you are welcome to take him home now. You can get his suppliments from the window over there." 

"Thank you." Derek said again. Amanda smiled and hurried to her next patient. "Spencer, wake up."

"Can we leave?" Spencer said as soon as he woke up. Derek chuckled and helped him stand up. 

"Yeah, we just need to get your prescription then I can take you home." Spencer gave him a weak cheer but he had a geniune smile on his face. 

With the prescription in hand, Derek drove Spencer home. 

"Did Hotch call about a case?" Spencer asked as Derek was moving around the kitchen. Derek frowned, maybe Spencer was still half-asleep when he spoke to Aaron.

"Yeah, he did. It was local though, we can work it from here if they need us." Derek answered. "Don't worry about the case, concentrate on yourself. Here." He said. He handed a plate, to which Spencer scrunched his face up in distaste. 

"What's this?" He asked. Derek laughed. 

"This is an iron-rich meal." Spencer pushed the food around on the plate. "Baby, you need to get your iron up to feel better. Just, please, humour me." Spencer looked at him skeptically then sighed and began to eat. "You'll thank me when you're feeling better." 

"Until then, I'm not happy about it."


	11. Chapter 11

Gradually, over the following week, Spencer began to recover; he could stay awake longer and he regained his strength. The only issue with him getting better was that his nightmares were returning. Before, he was too exhausted to even dream, let alone have nightmares. 

The nightmares weren't the only thing that was troubling him. Derek had been staying with him whenever he could and something had shifted. He had noticed it before George; the casual touching had increased, the nicknames were more frequent, more intimate, and they had been getting closer, but Spencer had just thought that they were becoming better friends because he had never fathomed the possibilty of them being anything more. But, after George, it was almost as though they were in a relationship, not that Spencer dared say anything. He didn't want to risk losing this new experience with Derek by asking questions. Even if he hated not being sure. 

"You're back!" A voice exclaimed as he entered the B.A.U. Spencer turned to the voice and smiled at the sight of the brightly dressed technical analyst. 

"Hi Garcia." He greeted. 

"Look at you," She said as she cupped his face in her hands. Spencer scrunched his nose and wiggled out of her grasp. "Are you back back?" 

"Hotch told me to be extra careful in the field until he's positive that my ribs are healed but yes." He covered his ears at Penelope's happy squeal. He accepted her quick hug then beelined to his desk. 

"It's good to see you back, Reid, but don't get too comfy, we have a case." Hotch said as he passed, a slight smile playing at his lips. It was always odd for the team to be down one member, moreso when they were missing the intelligent ramblings of Dr. Reid. 

"Look who's back." Prentiss said cheerily when Reid entered the conference room. He was pulled into a tight hug by her, JJ and Rossi before he was allowed to take his seat. 

"You're acting like I didn't see you all three days ago." Reid said. The team chuckled at him and took their seats too. 

"Ok. Garcia?" Hotch prompted. Garcia nodded and waited for them to slide their files in front of them. 

"Today's display of sadness isn't as icky as usual but it's not lacking in potential gross." She started, earning amused smiles from the team. "8 kids have gone missing in Seattle over the last month; Sandy Matel, Mark Johnsen, Andy Michaels, Archie Halls, Averie Kalis, Alisha O'Here, Winnie Illark and Kamry Walters. The kids are between 3 and 7, and come from families of two parents and three children, including the missing." 

"Why do they think they're connected?" Morgan asked. Reid held back from spewing child abduction statistics, he knew that his team had heard it before and he knew he'd get cut off.

"The parents all reported waking up in the middle of the night hearing strange noises; the description of the noises vary but they all seem to be some form of cooing or comfort sound. And when they got up to check on their kids and they found their youngest missing, they all noticed that the kid's favourite toys were missing too and their beds were made." Garcia explained. The team observed the photos for a quiet moment.

"If a child is half asleep then it's possible that they'd go with an adult without much of a fight. Especially if the adult is calm and has the child's comfort toy in hand." Prentiss posited. Hotch nodded in agreement. 

"Ok, Garcia tell Seattle P.D that we'll be there as soon as we can. Given that no bodies have been found, we're working under the assumption that these children are still alive. Wheels up in twenty." 

\----

"Sheriff Williams," Hotch greeted seriously. He shook hands with the Sheriff and stepped back. "This is SSA Emily Prentiss and Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Little smaller than I was expecting." Sheriff Williams grumbled. 

"The rest of my team are meeting with the parents." Hotch said sharply. Reid shared a look with Prentiss, Hotch's face had hardened minutely. Hotch always looked serious when working, more so when there were kids involved in a case, and he hated to deal with police personnel that were hesitant to let them help or were skeptical of their abilities. "Is there somewhere we can set up?" Sheriff Williams waved in the general direction of a conference room that was tucked away near the back of the bullpen then turned to speak to one of his officers. 

"He's a delight." Prentiss commented lightly when they were safely in the room. Hotch cracked a smile and handed Reid the file so he could set up their evidence board. 

"As if this isn't going to be hard enough without a hardheaded Sheriff pushing against us." Hotch rubbed his eyes in frustration and glanced out to the bullpen. Prentiss watched Reid sort the board out for a moment then moved to get them some coffee. 

"Feels like this is going to be a long case." She commented with a sigh. The two men hummed in agreement. 

"You really think that the kids are alive?" Reid asked. 

"We have to hope." Reid paused for a moment, just to look at Hotch, then nodded and continued. "And we have to hope that the Sheriff won't make this take longer than it should." 

The time between their arrival at the police station and the rest of the team joining them was filled with speculation and empty theories. They didn't really have enough to go on beyond the names and pictures of the missing children. 

"The parents found these." Rossi announced as they entered the conference room. He handed them to Reid for him to look over. 

"You found anything?" The Sheriff asked. Hotch rolled his eyes then turned to look at the man. 

"The UnSub left notes." Morgan explained shortly. The room had become noticably tense when the Sheriff entered. Reid sped through the notes, observing everything he could. 

"Why don't we just put an APB out on the missing kids?" The Sheriff asked, annoyance clear in his tone. 

"Because this guy's smart, he's not going to let the kids wander the streets." Morgan argued. "Reid, is there anything?" Reid hurriedly pinned the notes to the evidence board and kept looking over them, raising his hand to indicate for them to wait. 

"What's he going so find on some psycho's notes?! We should be out there knocking on doors." Hotch's eyes hardened further at the Sheriff's protest. "Why don't you send your agents out there and leave the professor to study his notes?" The team bristled at the man's word, all of them intending to come to Reid's defence but the man continued. "Aren't you a little young to be in the FBI? You sure you're qualified?" 

"A child goes missing every 40 seconds, 24% of those children are taken by a stranger. Victims of stranger kidnappings are more likely to be female and are teenagers or school-age children. 20% of non-family abductions are found dead. The first contact between UnSub and victim is within quarter of a mile of the child's home in 80% of stanger abductions. Most abductors take their victims from the street or lure them into their vehicles. 74% of victims who are murdered are dead within the first three hours." Reid rambled quickly, his hand gesturing almost wildly. The team watched on proudly as Reid did what he did best, smirking when the Sheriff gazed at the genius blankly. He clearly hadn't been expecting Reid to use statistics as his defence. "The contents of the notes, the fact that no bodies have been found and the absence of the child's comfort object leads to the assumption that the children are still alive and, to some extent, the UnSub cares for them. Some of these children have been missing for weeks and we don't know what they're going through right now." 

"So if you're quite finished questioning the abilities of my agents, we have 8 children to find." Hotch said in a monotone, though the team members could hear the tight anger in his voice. The Sheriff rolled his eyes and sent a glare towards Reid. The young agent simply gave the man a wide-eyed stare. 

"Whatever you say, Kid." He grumbled snidely before leaving the room. 

"Reid, what do you see?" Hotch asked, gesturing to the board. Reid blinked a few times then turned to the notes.

"All of the notes are different but all mention an adventure and the child's happiness: _She's ok, an adventure awaits and she's never been so happy; The night may seem cold but he fills the void with warmth, he's thrilled to be on this adventure with us; He craves our adventures, I know he does and now he will have them and he'll be delighted; He was bored but now he's excited, he longed for a journey and now he will join our adventure; She was born to explore, her potential has been repressed, now she is free to be her, she is happy; She will be content with us, I felt her longing, her need to go beyond her garden, to go on a more miraculous adventure; He wanted guidance, he begged to go further than his wildest dreams, we will take him on that grand adventure; She has been pushed aside and ignored, she wants attention, she wants more than she has received, we will give her everything and more, she'll never forget this adventure._ There's a consistent mention of plurals after the first note; 'we', 'our adventures', 'us'." Reid explained. The team listened carefully. 

"Do you think there's a partner?" JJ asked. Reid shook his head.

"No, I think he means him and the children since the use of plurals only start after the first victim. It reads a bit like a brother playing with his younger sibling." Reid suggested. The team crowded behind Reid to look over the notes too. 

"What about the writing?" Hotch asked. Reid took a breath and stepped forward. 

"It looks like they purposefully altered their handwriting. It's clearly from their dominant hand, and they have experience altering their writing, but there is clear hesitation in some places, where their normal handwriting comes through or they have to think about how they write a letter in this form." Reid points out the letters he's referring to, though the team had to look a little closer to see what he meant. 

"So, he's aware of how handwriting can be used forensically." Prentiss said. Rossi frowned then stepped back and pulled his phone out. 

"Oracle of all knowledge at your service." Garcia greeted them happily. 

"Garcia, is there anything that links the children? Parks? Schools? Clubs?" Rossi asked. The team took their seats, listening curiously. Reid pulled a notepad and a pen out of his messenger bag. 

"They all went to the same day care a few years ago." Garcia answered after a minute of rapid keyboard taps. "Oh no." 

"What?" Hotch asked. 

"The day care burned down 8 months ago. The owners died and their son, Marshall Huxton, was badly injured." She said. 

"Where's the son now?" Prentiss jumped in. After another minute of tapping, Garcia whined.

"There's nothing, after his stay in hospital he goes completely off the grid. He's nowhere." A waved of frustrated sighs and groans filled the room. 

"Ok, keep looking into it. See if the parents had any other properties we don't know about, if they have any family nearby. Anything will help." Hotch instructed. 

"I will hit you back when I get something. Stay safe, my lovelies." Morgan chuckled fondly at her antics.

"Did I ever get her drug tested?" Hotch asked himself lightly, easing the slight tension of the room. "JJ, get Sheriff Williams to gather his officers, we're ready to give the profile."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The profile is kind of half assed, I might come back and edit/add things at a later date but I don't know yet

"How are you ready already?" Sheriff Williams asked skeptically. "You've been here 6 hours." 

"We're good at our jobs, sir." Reid said placatingly. The Sheriff turned a dark glare towards the young profiler. 

"Listen here, Kid, I only called you because the comissioner told me to. I don't need some pretentious kid with a superiority complex implying that me and my force aren't good at their jobs." He hissed. Reid's eyes widened in surprise.

"No, you listen Sheriff, there are 8 children missing. They should be at the forefront of your concerns, perhaps you should consider them before you begin insulting one of my best agents." Hotch countered angrily. Sheriff Williams had the decency to look ashamed, he looked around at his officers then sat down. Morgan glared harshly at the Sheriff, his fists clenched at his sides. 

"The UnSub thinks he's a protector, he believes he's these children's brother." Rossi interjected. Hotch nodded to Morgan, causing him to relax slightly. 

"We believe that he isn't violent, his delusions are geared towards thinking the children need him to care for them." Prentiss added. "In his notes, he mentions taking the children on adventures." 

"We think that the UnSub is Marshall Huxton." Hotch said. "If you find him, do not use force. Talk to him. The lives of the children depend on it, he might believe they are better off dead if he's antagonised. He's intelligent, but we don't know to what extent." With a nod of finality, Hotch guided the team back into the conference room. 

"I'm going to go and call Henry." JJ murmured. Hotch mumbled that he was going to call Jack and they both left the room. Prentiss and Rossi decided that they would get them something to eat since they didn't know how long it would take for Garcia to get back to them and they didn't have much faith in the Sheriff. 

"You ok, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked when they were alone. He didn't expect to get much of an answer, when they were on a job Reid turned his mind to the case and only the case. Morgan did the same but that didn't stop him from being worried about the man. 

"Hmm?" Reid was answered absently, he was staring at the evidence board waiting for anything to come to him. 

"Reid." Morgan tried again, firmer this time to get his attention. "You ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Reid asked ignorantly. Morgan stared at Reid then shook his head with a click of his tongue.

"The Sheriff's an asshole, you shouldn't listen to him." Morgan said. Reid swallowed and fiddled with his hands. He had tried not to show that the Sheriff's words had bothered him but he should have know that a room full of profilers would see through a tough facade. "We are going to find these kids and it will be because of that big brain of yours." Reid turned his head shyly as he felt a blush rising on his cheeks. Morgan knocked his knuckle against Reid's jaw gently. Reid rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. Morgan's phone ringing startled them both. "Talk to me, Baby Girl."

"Your wish is my demand, my sweet summer child. I did some serious digging and I found out that a Great Aunt bought a house in Seattle a year ago. She has been paying the bills since then but neighbours have said that the only person they've seen enter the house is a man." Garcia said. Reid raised his head slightly in thought, his eyebrows furrowing. 

"Did they give a description?" Morgan asked. Hotch re-entered the room, looking at them in confusion. 

"Uhhm... Yeah, they said it was a white guy in his twenties, dark hair, 5'8-5'9." Garcia read. "I called the neighbours, they said that they hadn't seen anyone go in for a while but they all said that they worked in the day so they couldn't be sure. I sent the address to your cells." 

"What did she get?" Hotch asked after Garcia hung up. 

"She found, what could be, our UnSub's house." Morgan said. 

"When everyone gets back, Reid, you take Prentiss to the house. There might not be anything there but it's worth a look." Hotch decided. Reid nodded then stood up to add the address to the map. "Reid." Hotch called softly. "Don't pay that man any mind, he knows nothing about you and he's just mad that you got us closer to finding these children in a matter of hours when he's been searching for a month." Reid smiled gratefully at the man. 

"We come baring gifts." Rossi announced with a grin. They dumped the bags on the table. 

"Prentiss, you and Reid are going to the UnSub's house once you've finished eating." Hotch said. Prentiss looked at Reid as he took a seat.

"We aren't going now?" She asked. 

"No, I don't think he's there. Besides, you need to eat." Hotch said, pointing to one of the spare seats. As the food was handed out, Reid rummaged through the bags. 

"Why do we always get food from places that use chopsticks?" He whined when he couldn't find a fork. Morgan chuckled, as did Prentiss, Hotch and Rossi, then reached into his own bag.

"We like to see you struggle." Morgan teased. Reid glared at Morgan and stuck his tongue out at him childishly. "Oh, if that's how you're gonna be, I'll just keep this for myself." Morgan said, waving the fork in his hand.

"Wait, no." Reid said with a smile. Before Morgan could realise what was happening, Reid launched himself at the man to grab the fork. The others watched in amusement as they playfully fought for the fork, they didn't have enough happy memorable moments from the job so they took what they could get. Perhaps it was inappropriate to allow them to continue their scuffle but Hotch couldn't bring himself to stop them. "A-Ha!" Reid hollered triumphantly, holding the fork like a trophy. 

The wide, carefree smile that adorned Reid's face was so rare in their work life that they savoured it, held it close to their hearts. They knew that the moment would be used to get them through tough cases, much like the lives they had saved. 

Morgan paid specific attention to the man's bright smile, like the others he would hold it close, but he knew it would be running through his mind more. He loved it when Reid was relaxed enough to allow such a beautiful smile be freed. His attention was drawn away from the man in front of him to the Sheriff stood by one of the detectives desks, the man was scowling at them. Morgan wasn't going to let a bitter police sheriff ruin the good feeling the team was experiencing so he returned the scowl with a harsh death stare. 

The warm feeling stayed with them while Prentiss and Reid headed to the UnSub's house. 

"It's good to have you back, Spence." Prentiss said as they were approaching the house. Reid looked at her surprised. "I mean it." 

"It's good to be back." He replied softly. Prentiss smiled and wrapped an arm around him for a quick side hug. Reid stood outside while Prentiss and another officer cleared the house. 

"I'm sorry about the way Sheriff Williams spoke to you." The officer waiting with him said. Reid looked at him, making sure that the man was sincere. 

"It's not your fault." Reid said. The officer shook his head and ran his hand over his face. 

"Doesn't mean it doesn't make me feel like shit." He said. Reid continued to look at him in confusion, his head tilted slightly. "He makes the whole force look bad." 

"I appreciate the apology." Reid said with a slight smile. 

"Good to go." Said Prentiss, popping her head out the door. Reid gave the officer another quick smile then joined Prentiss in the house. "Refridgerator is full and the house looks well lived in." 

"Does he have a computer?" Prentiss nodded and disappeared through a doorway. 

"I'll get Garcia connected." She called back to him. Reid nodded to himself and started down the basement stairs. 

A muffled shuffle coming from deep in the basement had Reid stopping in his tracks. He quietly drew his weapon and continued, keeping his steps lighter. He was tempted to call out for Prentiss but he didn't know what he was hearing, he didn't want to raise an alarm when all he was hearing was a racoon. After quickly clearing the basement, he lowered his gun slightly and started to follow the sound. He took slow, calculated steps to ensure that he could hear the near constant sound. The sounds directed him to a wall, a wall that didn't fit. With a frown, he lifted his hand to run it over the wall. His heart jolted when his fingers found a gap in the wall. He slid his fingers into the gap and pulled as hard as he could until the wall broke off in his hand. He coughed and spluttered as a dust of plaster blew into his face but he pushed through it to tear the rest of the dry wall down. When the dust cleared enough for him to see, he instantly re-holstered his gun and rushed forward. 

"Hey, it's ok. You're safe. I'm here to help you." There, in the corner of the tiny, hidden room, was a little boy, around 6 years old. "Are you Winnie Illark?"

"Are you the police?" The boy asked after nodding in response to Reid's question. 

"I'm with the FBI." Reid said. He knelt down to the boy's height. Suddenly, there were small arms wrapped around his neck. He held Winnie close and picked him up. "Come on, let's get you out of here." 

"What's your name?" Winnie asked as Reid tried to manouver getting out of the hidden room with the boy in his arms. 

"Spencer." Winnie hummed and laid his head on Reid's shoulder. 

"That's a nice name." Winnie stated, his hand toying with the hair on the back of Reid's head. 

"Prentiss." Reid called as softly as he could so he didn't startle Winnie. He didn't bother to look for her, insteading choosing to go out to the SUV. 

"Reid, what ha-" Prentiss started as she rushed out of the house. Reid heard her talking into her radio then she appeared at his side. "Hi, there. My name is Emily." 

"I'm Winnie." Prentiss smiled at him and looked at Reid with shocked eyes. 

"Where was he?" She asked him lowly. 

"There was a fake wall hiding a room in the basement." Reid replied in a whisper. They waited at the car with the boy until an ambulance arrived. 

"Spencer? Will you go with me?" Winnie asked nervously when the EMTs tried to get him into the ambulance. Reid turned to Prentiss in surprise. 

"Go, I'll tell Hotch where you're going. Keep your radio on." Prentiss encouraged. Reid nodded and lead Winnie into the ambulance.


	13. Chapter 13

Spencer waited patiently while the doctors checked Winnie over. His parents had been called while they were still in the ambulance and Spencer expected them to arrive soon. 

"Excuse me?" Spencer turned at the timid voice and was met with a couple. 

"Yes?" He answered. The couple looked at one another. 

"Are you the FBI agent that found our son?" The man asked. 

"Yes, I am. Dr. Spencer Reid." He greeted with a polite smile. "You're Mr and Mrs Illark." He was tugged into a tight hug by Mrs Illark and shook Mr Illark's hand when he was released. 

"Thank you." Spencer shook his head and deflected the thanks. 

"Family of... Winston Illark." A nurse interrupted. "You can see him now." Spencer slowly followed the parents into Winnie's room. He hung back during their reunion then stepped forward. 

"I need to ask Winnie a few questions, if you don't mind." He asked. The parents looked at each other. 

"Why?" Mrs Illark asked. Mr Illark wrapped his arm around his wife. 

"There are still 7 missing children that we need to find." Mrs Illark covered her mouth in shock. "You didn't know?" 

"No, we have been so focused on finding Winnie." She answered. "Of course, you can ask anything." Spencer nodded and approached Winnie. 

"Hi Spencer." Winnie said with a toothy smile. Spencer smiled and took the offered hand after looking to his parents for approval. 

"Hello Winnie. I need to ask you some questions about the man who took you, is that ok?" Winnie thought for a moment then nodded. Spencer pulled the file and a pen and paper out of his bag then turned his attention back to the boy. "What do you remember about him? Do you remember his name?"

"He was real tall." Winnie said. 

"How tall? Tall like your dad?" Spencer was glad that he had experience with children now, Henry and Jack had really helped him with interacting with kids. 

"No, like... like my cousin, Alfie." Spencer looked to Winnie's parents for clarification. 

"5'7ish, I would say." Mr Illark said after some thought. Spencer wrote down the height then turned back to Winnie. 

"Did he tell you his name?" Winnie thought about it for a minute. 

"He said his name was Marshie." He said with a determined nod. Spencer chuckled quietly at that. 

"Do you know where he took the other kids?" Winnie tapped his foot against the bed as he thought. "Do you think you could draw it?" Winnie wiggled excitedly and made grabby hands at Spencer's notepad. Spencer watched curiously as the picture began to form. He took the drawing from Winnie then stood. "I need to get this back to my team." Spencer said almost urgently. Winnie's parents nodded and thanked him again. 

Spencer drove back to the police station as fast as he legally could then rushed into the conference room where the team was waiting for him. Hotch called the Sheriff into the room to look over the picture. 

"What? Your personal computer can't figure it out?" Sheriff Williams scoffed as he looked at it. The team turned angry glares towards the man. 

"That's a residential building out near Green Lake." An officer interrupted. The team looked surprised at the young officer's intervention but Reid smiled, it was the same officer that had apologised to him about the Sheriff. 

"Can you show us where?" Hotch asked. The officer didn't even spare a glance towards his Sheriff as he nodded. "Ok, Sheriff, I need you to gather every officer you can spare, more the better. JJ, make sure we have EMT's either en-route or at the building when we arrive. Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, we're going with the police, we'll talk strategy in the car. Reid, you're staying here, I want you to call Garcia and see if she has anything that can help us. Radio's on the entire time, I want communication with all of you at all times." Hotch barked out orders and the team leapt into action. Sheriff Williams seemed stunned for a second before he turned to the bullpen and began to gather his officers. Reid called Garcia as soon as Hotch had finished speaking. 

"Garcia, we need you to connect our radio's." He said without greeting. Garcia felt the urgency through the phone and immediately connected their radios. 

"Ok, you should be good to go." Reid stood and shut the door to the conference room then sat down and put his earpiece in. He ran a quick test to make sure that the team could hear him and he could hear all of them then sat down. 

"What do you have on the apartment building, Garcia?" Hotch's voice crackled through the radio. They listened to the quick tapping as she worked. 

"It's an old building in the centre of Seattle, there are 700 apartments, and about 1,200 people living there. There have been a few reports of domestic violence, robbery, breaking and entering, battery but nothing that really stuck." She rattled off quickly. 

"Morgan, I want you on the first floor. Prentiss, 2nd and 3rd. Rossi, 4th and 5th. I'll be on the 6th and 7th. We have 20 officers at hand, 5 officers will join each of us." Reid bounced his leg nervously then got up to start pacing. Staying back and waiting while his team went out to potential apprehend a suspect made him nervous. His team had an incredible track record for getting into sticky situations on cases. 

The next 20 minutes was filled with orders and tactics. They had arrived at the building and Hotch had struggled to get all the personnel present to listen to him but, when he did, he made sure that everyone knew what they had to do; the police officers were to follow the orders of the agent they were assigned to and the EMT's were to standby. 

For a long time, all that was coming through the radio was shouts of 'clear' and members of law enforcement talking to residents. Until, Morgan found something. 

"Garcia, is there a basement in this place?" The radio fell silent. 

"Yes, it's mostly boilers and electrical bits and bobs. Just stuff that keeps the building running." Garcia said. Morgan groaned and called for the officer's closest to him to follow him down. Reid leant against the table, eyes boring into the blueprint that Garcia had shared with him. 

"Get out." Morgan ordered suddenly, causing Reid's heart to clench painfully before it began to race. He heard the officers try to argue with Morgan. "Seriously, get out. That goes for everyone else too." 

"Morgan, what's happening?" Prentiss asked. 

"You guys need to evacuate the building right now, get everyone out and get out yourselves." Morgan said firmly. The agent watched the officer's reluctantly leave then turned back to the box that had caused the orders. He followed the wires until he reached a door. "How's the evacuation going?" Morgan asked as he heard rumbling footsteps above him. 

"It's going to take a minute, there are a lot of people to get out." Rossi said, his voice barely betrayed his carefully controlled worry. 

"Morgan, what's happening?" Reid tried, he tried to be firm but even he could hear the wavering. 

"Derek?" Garcia said when Morgan didn't say anything. Morgan made a noise in the back of his throat. Then the sound of sobbing reached the ears of the team. 

"Hey, it's ok." Morgan cooed. 

"Did you find the children?" Hotch asked. Reid noted that the man sounded out of breath. 

"Is everyone out?" Morgan simply asked. He stepped towards the children slowly, his hands raised to stop them from rushing towards him. 

"Nearly." Prentiss replied. "What's going on, Morgan?"

"You sent the officers out?" Hotch questioned when he saw the officers he had assigned to Morgan stood outside with the cars. 

"The kids will be out in just a minute." Morgan answered instead. Very, very gingerly, Morgan slid his hands between the children's small, shaking hands and the object they were holding. "Go, now. There are lots of people outside that want to help you, ok?" The children hesitated for a moment, not sure if they trusted him, then they sprinted out of the basement. 

"Morgan?" Hotch said, almost shouting. The team stood outside with hundreds of confused residents and police officers, and Reid and Garcia listened in terrified silence. 

"Are the kids out?" Morgan asked, his own voice wavering now, a rare thing to hear from the man. Hotch watched the doorway expectantly until it was slowly pushed open and the 7 missing children scrambled out. Prentiss and Rossi rushed forward and gathered the children to take them to the EMT's. 

"The kids are safe, Morgan. Now tell us what's happening? Is the suspect down there?" Hotch demanded. He could feel the fear clawing at him when the agent didn't answer and he was getting desperate. 

"No, he's not here." Morgan whispered. 

"Then what is it?" Reid begged. The team outside the building locked eyes, their adenaline was pumping and they could feel the apprehension amongst them. 

"JJ?" Hotch frowned deeply and nodded to JJ. 

"Yeah? What can I do?" She asked gently. Morgan let out an uncharacteristic sob and smiled weakly, even though he couldn't see her, he knew that she had that motherly look of concern on her face. Worry increased in the hearts of all of the team members. 

"I need you to call the bomb squad."


	14. Chapter 14

Hearts froze in fear. 

Minds raced with possibilities. 

Vision became blurry as tears filled eyes. 

And, suddenly, they understood.

They understood why Morgan had been so persistent in getting the building empty but they were angry about it. 

In a flash of movement, JJ hurried away to call the bomb squad and Hotch was ordering the officers to get the residents as far away from the building as they could. 

Without word to the others, Reid bolted out of the conference room and got into their remaining SUV to speed to the apartment building, lights flashing and siren blaring. 

"Reid, I told you to stay back." Hotch scolded as Reid jogged up to join them. 

"I can't hang back and do nothing." Reid said, staring up at the building. 

"Bomb squad is on the way." JJ said. 

"Morgan, does the bomb have a timer?" Hotch asked. Reid wiped his eyes as discreetly as he could and tried to bite back the ones that were trying to replace them. 

"12 minutes, 47 seconds." Morgan replied. Garcia gasped in their ear. 

"JJ, call bomb squad back and tell them how long we have." Hotch ordered. "Morgan, is there anyway you can get out?" 

"Unless you want the bomb out there, then no." Reid's eyes widened and he turned to Hotch. 

"We have to get him out of there." He said urgently. "Garcia sent me some background on Marshall Huxton, he was a science major. He could easily get his hands on Mercury." 

"Reid, I can't put it down, you know that." Morgan's voice was soft, trying to be comforting but, considering the circumstances, it didn't do much.

"Then where's the bomb squad?!" Hotch laid a hand on Reid's shoulder to try and calm him. 

"They're coming as fast as they can." JJ said. Reid shook his head. 

"They aren't going to get here fast enough." Morgan chuckled over the radio. 

"That's real comforting, thanks." He said. Reid covered his face with his hands and stepped away, pulling his earpiece out. He sat with his thoughts, counting down the minutes as he was sure Morgan was doing too, until there was a screech of tires. 

7 minutes 14 seconds. 

Reid barely processed Hotch talking to the bomb squad, he was focused on replacing the earpiece to listen to Garcia talking to Morgan. 

"You take care of my Pretty Boy, you hear me?" Morgan was saying. Garcia choked on a quiet sob and Reid could almost see her shaking her head. 

"You can take care of him yourself." She whispered. Reid wiped his eyes frustratedly, he wanted to be able to focus but there wasn't really anything to do to help so he was left with his emotions. Of course, it had to be Derek Morgan down there with a bomb. 

"But just... Just in case, I need you to promise that you'll take care of him." Morgan continued. Reid shook his head. 

"Agent Morgan?" Another voice came through. Reid swallowed thickly and rejoined the team. He silently approached Prentiss and slipped his hand in hers then did the same with JJ, he needed their support and he knew they'd appreciate the gesture too.

5 minutes 49 seconds. 

The only sound coming through the radio was heavy breathing, none of them were sure who it was coming from but it heightened the tension. They were waiting with bated breath for any sign, good or bad. 

"Hey guys?" Morgan murmured, his voice was shaking. 

"Yeah?" Hotch managed. Prentiss tightened her hand around Reid's and reached towards Rossi with her free hand. 

"I love you." Morgan said through a scared sigh. Hotch's expression tightened, he tried to restrain his emotion and stay professional but it was hard when one of his own was in such a life threathening situation. JJ turned to bury her face in Reid's shoulder as she cried and he stood still, just staring at the doors and ignoring the wetness on his cheeks and the burning in his eyes. Rossi laid a tightened hand on Hotch's shoulder and swallowed. "You'll tell my mama and sisters that I love them too, right?" 

"We won't need to, you're going to make it out of there." Garcia piped up. Silent tears fell down the men's faces as they tried to stay strong for their team. 

"They're working on it, I just want to have my bases covered." 

2 minutes 9 seconds. 

"How's it coming?" Rossi asked around the lump in his throat. Morgan laughed nervously and looked down at the bomb squad working. 

"It's coming." Morgan said vaguely. Reid took a painful breath and lifted his hand to his throat, he felt just as helpless now as he did then. But he was honestly more scared for Morgan's life now than he had been for his own. This part of the job never got easier.

1 minute. 

"I'm sorry." A sob ripped through their earpieces. They felt bad that no one was back in Quantico to comfort Garcia, she was all alone. Hotch swallowed thickly and stepped back to wrap his arms around the team, Rossi following suit quickly. 

The police officers watched on sadly, having one of your own in the firing line was tough to process. 

JJ couldn't catch her breath, she clutched onto Reid and Hotch desperately as if they were the only things keeping her up. Prentiss' cheeks were wet but she, like Reid, was just staring blankly at the doorway. Hotch had his usual frown but his eyes betrayed his pain to those who knew him, as did the tear tracks on his face. 

"Morgan?" Hotch tried, his voice strained. No answer. "Morgan?!" The only answer they received was a faint click followed by heavy breathing and footsteps. 

The doors opened. 

Relief hit them all like a tsunami. Morgan followed the bomb squad out of the building with a wide grin. JJ was the first to throw herself into Morgan's arms but she was closely followed by the rest of the team. Even the officers had pleased smiles on their faces.

"He's ok, he's alive." Hotch murmured to Garcia. When Morgan was released from the group hug, he took the time to hold JJ, Prentiss and Reid, wiping their faces with his thumbs. He held Reid's face in his hands for slightly longer than necessary but the younger man pulled himself away angrily. 

Now that the threat had been removed and Morgan was no longer in imminent danger, the team could be mad at him for putting himself in that danger. 

And, boy, was Reid mad.

He stormed back to the SUV, slamming the door as hard as he could without risk of damage to the car. 

"Reid?" Morgan started to go after him but Hotch held him back. 

"Give him time." Hotch suggested. Morgan frowned but headed towards the other car with JJ and Prentiss. 

The team kept sending worried glances towards the young profiler. He wasn't quite stomping around like a toddler but he was maintaining his stony silence, only breaking when Hotch or Rossi spoke to him. 

Morgan decided to try and talk to him when they were on the jet. He figured that it was the only place that Reid couldn't run. 

"Spence?" Morgan said. Reid was making Prentiss and Hotch drinks. "Come on, talk to me." 

"You know, it's funny." Reid started coldly. "When I talk down a kid with a gun, I get reprimanded for being wreakless and risking the lives of myself and others but, when you do something decidedly stupid, you get praised for your heroism." Morgan stood in shock. Reid didn't spare Morgan a glance, he stepped around the man to give Hotch and Prentiss their drinks before curling up on the couch with his back to the team. 

\----

Spencer slammed his apartment door and threw his go-bag across the room, feeling childish satisfaction at the small area of destruction it left. He clenched his hands in his hair and fell against the door.

Everything was so much easier when he didn't have an emotional connection with the team. Before, it was just Gideon and that had ended badly so he had tried to shield himself from the others. But they managed to break through his walls, Morgan broke down his defences. He cared so deeply for the team, for his family. He felt like he was dying whenever any of them were in trouble. Knowing that Morgan was in that building, holding a bomb, it had felt like someone was ripping his heart out with their bare hands. And he had never wished that he couldn't feel more than in that moment, in every moment that Derek was in danger. 

With a shaky breath, he pushed off the door and headed for the kitchen. He ate then went to shower, pointedly ignoring his phone buzzing on his desk. 

He heard the loud knocking while he was in the shower but he took his time. He wasn't in the mood for a social call. Once he was decent, he slowly made his way to the door. 

He opened it then immediately swung it closed and walked away, uncaring that his visitor had pushed the door open and entered the apartment. 

"Spencer, please." Derek plead, following Spencer through to his bedroom. Spencer ignored him once again and climbed into his bed, pulling the covers up to his ears. Derek sighed deeply, Spencer hadn't covered his head though so he took that as a good sign. He sat down on the other side of the bed and buried his hand in Spencer's mop of hair. "Please, look at me?" 

"No." Spencer grumbled. He tried to stay mad but, like all those years ago, his resolve was crumbling. 

"Hey, Pretty Boy, I just want to talk." Derek murmured. Spencer's eyes slipped closed as Derek's hand began to massage his scalp. 

"Then talk." Derek chuckled at Spencer's reluctance. He shifted in place to get more comfortable. 

"I know you're angry at me. You have every right to be. And you were right, what I did was wreakless and I should have thought about how it would affect you guys." Derek started. "But, in the moment, I was thinking about getting those kids out of there safely. Getting everyone out safely."

"You could have put it down." Spencer argued. 

"I didn't want to risk prematurely setting it off." Spencer huffed and curled into himself further. "Spencer, I'm sorry for scaring you." 

"I thought I was going to hear you die." Spencer whispered after a pregnant pause. Derek studied the man sadly. He laid down next to Spencer and pulled him closer against his body, smiling when he relaxed into the touch. 

"But you didn't." Derek said softly. He rubbed his hand up and down Spencer's back. "I'm right here, baby." 

"That's why I'm allowed to be mad at you." Spencer said into Derek's chest. 

"Yeah, ok, Pretty Boy." Derek agreed simply. He could handle Spencer being angry with him for a little bit, if anything it just showed that Spencer cared about him, and it wasn't like he never got angry whenever Spencer was in danger. At least it hadn't put a dent in their developing relationship, they seemed to be continuing where they left off before the case. 

It didn't take long before Spencer uncurled and pressed closer to Derek. 

"I am glad you're ok." He said softly. Derek tugged him into a quick hug then looked down at him. 

"You should sleep, got to get up early tomorrow." Derek said. Spencer nodded sleepily but frowned, suddenly alert, when Derek slid off the bed. 

"Wait... will you stay?" He asked, his voice low. Derek smiled at him affectionately and rerouted to the bathroom. 

"Get yourself comfy, Pretty Boy, I'll be right out." Spencer took a relieved breath and snuggled down under the blankets. He turned when the bathroom door opened and revealed Derek wearing only his t-shirt and boxers. "I'm gonna lock up and turn the lights off." Spencer let his eyes follow Derek as he wandered through the living room. 

"No." Spencer called as Derek reached for a certain lamp. Derek paused and looked at Spencer confused. "I don't turn that one off." Derek's confusion softened into affection and he dropped his hand from the switch. Once he was certain that all the windows and the door was locked, Derek rejoined Spencer in bed. Spencer frowned when Derek laid down on the other side of the bed, leaving space between them. He waited for Derek's breathing to even out then slowly shuffled closer. He still left some space between them but he moved until he could feel the warmth from the other man. Then he could relax. 


	15. Chapter 15

The day felt like it was dragging. 

Spencer had woken up early and gone about his morning without much thought to the man in his bed. It wasn't until he had sipped some coffee and he heard the shower running that he'd remembered that Derek had stayed. They had been quiet during the drive to the B.A.U and had quickly gotten to work on their paperwork, a silent agreement to not allude to where Derek had been the night before.

Spencer had shifted into his work mindset and focused on the files on his desk, scowling whenever one of the others slipped their files on his pile. Morgan couldn't help but let his eyes wander over to the young doctor every now and then; taking in the slight furrow of concentration or his free hand tapping. Spencer propped his leg up on his chair and leant back, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

Every now and then, a new cup of coffee would appear on the edge of his desk and he would send a smile over to Derek. 

It was the early afternoon when Hotch emerged from his office. 

"Conference room." The team stood up immediately and headed to the round table. They all managed to sit down before they noticed there was another person in the room beside the team.

"Who's this?" Morgan asked when he realised. 

"This is Agent-in-Training Eden Johnson." Hotch introduced. She gave the team a little wave. "Strauss sent her here as part of her training." The team shared a few annoyed looks, looks that looked perfectly innocent to the eyes of Eden Johnson but Hotch could see the indignation lying there. "Ok, Garcia, go ahead." 

"We're not going anywhere this week, crime fighters, as the gross is on our own front door. 37 year old, Alica Marsh, was found in a vacant factory lot two weeks ago, she had been hit in the head. She was working on the streets and didn't come back from a job one night. 24 year old, Mary Keller, was found in an abandoned building one week ago. And, 36 year old, Angela Marke, was found in an empty house two days ago. All of the women had been stangled and..." Garcia explained, waving her hand and scrunching her face up in disgust. 

"And he had sex with the bodies." Hotch finished. 

"Were they all prostitues?" Prentiss asked. 

"Yes," Hotch nodded. "Prentiss and Rossi, I want you to go to the last scene, see if anyone noticed anything. JJ, we are going to talk to their families. Morgan and Reid, you're staying here with Johnson, you work on victimology and the geoprofile. Reid, I want you to look at the ME's report more thoroughly." Hotch decided then they all dispersed to do their jobs. 

"Reid, you want a coffee before we start?" Morgan asked when the others had left. Reid lifted his head as a sign of acknowledgement but kept his eyes on the file. 

"Yes, please." He answered. "I'll get the board ready then look into the ME's report." Johnson hovered awkwardly for a second, her eyes avoiding the crime scene photos Reid had laid on the table, then sat down. 

"You okay?" Reid asked, his tone soft and sympathetic. He knew it could be jarring to see the crime scene photos and the autopsy photos when you weren't used to it. He didn't know that his usual caring question would be taken the wrong way. Still, after she nodded, he turned his attention to the report. 

"What do you want me to do?" She asked. Reid didn't answer her, too focused on the evidence board. "Dr. Reid?" She said loudly when he sat down to start reading the report. 

"Yeah?" He replied, still blatantly distracted. 

"What would you like me to do, Dr. Reid?" She asked. His brow furrowed slightly at the tone she used but it was gone in a split second. 

"Erm, Garcia sent us details about the victims, see if you notice anything that could connect them." He said in a rush. He didn't see the wistful smile she gave him because he was back to reading the reports. 

"Here you go." Morgan said, putting the cup down in front of Reid. "What have you got?" Johnson opened her mouth to speak, to comment on Reid reading no doubt, but Reid interrupted her. 

"Asphyxiation was the cause of death for the second two victims but it seems that Alica Marsh was strangled moments after she died. Possibly while he was assaulting her post-mortem." Reid start quickly, "The coroner found semen in all 3 of the victims and sent them to the lab for DNA testing." Morgan couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his lips at the fast ramble from the man but he also noticed the, predictable, look of awe on Johnson's face. 

"You sure read those fast." She commented. Reid didn't register her speaking, instead turning to look at the board again. 

"You see somethin', Reid?" Morgan asked. Reid just kept staring at the board. "What do you see?"

"Something about this case seems familiar." Reid grumbled. He was frustrated that he couldn't pinpoint what was familiar about it. 

"You've seen something like this before?" Johnson said. Morgan frowned at the coy tone she had adopted but shook it off. 

"No, no. The M.O is ringing a bell but I'm struggling to sift through the immence number of strangulations inflicted on protitutes." Reid said. Morgan watched the man frown at the board then turned to Johnson. 

"What have you got?" Morgan asked when he saw the victim details in front of her. Morgan stood next to her expectantly, waiting for her refocus on the work rather than Reid. 

"Oh, erm, I haven't found anything yet?" She said with a shrug. Morgan turned to look at Reid with an irritated look on his face before he gathered the files to look through them himself. 

"Alica Marsh: last known address was her parents house 4 years ago, she's been in and out of various shelters but doesn't seem to be doing any drugs, she routinely sends her family money. Mary Keller: last known address was a small apartment in New York five years ago, she's been charged with possession a few times. Angela Marke; last known address was a house here in D.C 2 years ago, she has had a few jobs but keeps ending up on the street, there have been many transactions to her son, who is in college." Morgan said as he read. Reid nodded along then moved back to look at the crime scene photos. 

Morgan's annoyance towards Agent Johnson was growing slowly. Him and Reid had been flicking through the files, noting things down and starting on the geoprofile but Johnson had been sat doing nothing. So much so that she jumped when his phone rang. 

"Morgan." He said, already putting his phone on speaker. 

"Prentiss and Rossi are on the line too." Hotch started. "The families say that the victims didn't know each other." 

"We spoke to some of the girls on the street and they said that they didn't know the first two victims, that they'd never seen them before." Prentiss added. 

"We're on our way back now." Hotch announced. 

The rest of the team arrived, armed with bags of food, not too long after the phone call. They were discussing what they had found and running through the details over and over when Garcia rushed into the conference room. 

"Sir, another body has been found." She said, handing Hotch a new file. 

"27 year old, Marleen Fredrick, was found in the closet of an abandoned house, an hour ago." Hotch read. Rossi watch curiously as Reid's face twisted in frustration. 

"Still sound familiar?" Morgan asked. The team watched quietly as Reid stood up and added the new victim to the board. 

"Yeah," He muttered. 

"What's familiar about it?" Hotch asked seriously. 

"The victims are all prostitutes, they're all strangled and are found in abandoned buildings. And the UnSub is a necrophiliac who isn't worried about leaving DNA behind." Reid explained, his hands waving as he did so. "I know I've read it before but I haven't found where yet." 

"Ok, you keep working on that." Hotch handed Reid the new file. "JJ and Prentiss go to the new scene. Rossi, we're going to the ME." Morgan followed Hotch out of the conference room. 

"Hotch." He called to get the man's attention. "Hotch, why is Johnson here?" 

"I told you, Strauss sent her for training." Hotch replied with a shrug. 

"Training for what?" Morgan asked. "She's not doing anything here. She just sits there twiddling her thumbs and staring at Reid." 

"Strauss didn't tell me why she's here, I was just told that she'd be joining us for a few cases." Morgan sighed and pointed to the conference room window, where Reid was flicking through the files with a book on his lap and Johnson was leaning back in her chair, tapping her hands on the table and watching Reid work. 

"Can't you take her with you? What training is she getting from watching me and Reid work?" Morgan complained. Hotch sighed and observed Johnson's actions for a second. 

"She's not qualified to be in the field yet, I have no choice but to leave her here." Morgan rolled his eyes. 

"Then give her something to do." He said shortly, before turning on his heel and walking back to the conference room. 

It wasn't until Garcia reappeared with more bad news that something finally clicked. 

"42 year old woman, named Flora Nightly, just reported being raped and beaten." Garcia announced with a disgusted look on her face. 

"How is it connected?" Johnson asked. Garcia frowned at her briefly then turned back to Morgan.

"She said she was taken to an abandoned building." Both she and Morgan waited in anticipation as Reid's eyes pulled into a squint, darting over their evidence board, as the cogs in his brain started turning. Then his eyes widened again when he landed on what he was looking for. 

"Hotch." Reid almost shouted in excitement when Hotch answered the phone. 

"What have you got, Reid?" Hotch answered, barely hiding the smile in his voice. 

"I know why it's familiar." Reid said. Johnson was about to ask him why but was stopped by Morgan holding a hand up to stop her. "Chicago, 1993-1999. Andre Crawford strangled 10 prostitutes, and raped another, and left them in abandoned or vacant buildings. He also had sex with the victims post-mortem. Someone supposedly heard Crawford saying 'drug-addicted sex workers need to be strangled and have their heads beaten in.'." Morgan bit back a smile at the man's fast rambling. 

"Do you think it's Crawford?" Rossi questioned. 

"No, he was arrested in 2000 and sentenced to life in 2009." Reid replied. "I think it's a copycat."

"Ok we'll give the profile when we get back." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andre Crawford is a real man and the facts about his crimes are true, as far as I'm aware. Feel free to do your own research


	16. Chapter 16

Morgan was distracted while Hotch and the team gave the profile to the police. Hotch had decided to have Reid stay with Johnson and Morgan couldn't help the natural urge to keep checking on the young profiler. 

Reid kept shifting uncomfortably and glancing towards the bullpen. 

"You know, it's impressive that you remembered all those details from the Crawford case." Johnson said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. Reid frowned and stumbled over a chair leg.

"Not really, I have an eidetic memory." Reid said, trying to deflect. The flirty tone in her voice was making him uncomfortable, it didn't feel the same as when Morgan did it.

"Oooh, a smart boy." She said with a smirk, stepping closer to him. "Smart is the new sexy." She whispered. She hooked her finger behind Reid's tie and pulled it out of his cardigan. Reid turned wide, worried eyes to the bullpen, desperately trying to make eye contact with someone. 

"This is highly inappropriate, please stop." Reid stammered. Johnson giggled and began to loosen his tie. 

"Aw, Dr. Reid, I can show you inappropriate." She said. She stroked his jaw, which he shook off and side-stepped her. Morgan saw the exchange and excused himself, hurrying up to the conference room. 

"Johnson." He barked as he entered, gaining the attention of everyone in the bullpen. Hotch noticed Johnson tripping over her feet and Reid tucking his tie back into his cardigan, blantantly flustered, and he too hurried up to the conference room. "What do you think you're doing?!" Morgan asked lowly. He could feel an unfamiliar swirl of possessiveness in his chest; there had been a slight twinge of jealousy when he had first seen Johnson making advances on Reid but it had morphed into possessiveness when he'd seen how Reid had moved away.

"What's going on?" Hotch demanded. Johnson kept her eyes on the floor, though it seemed like she was more annoyed at having been caught. 

"It's nothing, Hotch." Reid said. He wasn't a fan of getting people in trouble. Derek shook his head in disagreement. Johnson threw him a pleased smile, unknowing of Reid's aversion to snitching and rather believing that it was Reid's way of accepting her advances. 

"Reid." Hotch said sternly. Reid's eyes flicked between Morgan and Hotch nervously but sighed. 

"She was being inappropriate." He said gently. Hotch moved stern eyes to Johnson. 

"My office, now." He said. Johnson followed Hotch to his office with her head hanging, knowing that the team's eyes were following her. 

"You alright, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked gently. Reid took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. After readjusting his tie, Reid answered Morgan. 

"I'm ok." Morgan glanced at the bullpen, smirking at the team's very obvious attempt to look busy. While the others were distracted, Morgan took the opportunity to pat Reid on the cheek, letting his hand linger there after. He wanted to replace the previously unwanted touch with something he hoped that Reid did want. Reid tilted his head into the touch minutely and smiled shyly. Derek moved away when he heard the team's footsteps coming towards the conference room. 

"Reid, tell us more about Crawford." Hotch said. The team sat down at the round table and turned waiting eyes on Reid. They didn't acknowledge that Johnson hadn't rejoined them. 

"Born 1962, in Chicago. He was put into foster care as an infant due to his mother leaving him alone for long periods of time. As an adult, Crawford became transient and lived in abandoned buildings in Chicago." Reid started. "He had actually been arrested for felony theft in 1993, attempted criminal sexual abuse in 1995, possession of a controlled substance in 1998 and 1999 but his DNA was never taken so he wasn't connected to the murders until 2000." There was an undercurrent of frustration at the system in the room. 

"I'll get Garcia to see if there's anyone who fits the profile or has a particular interest in Crawford." JJ said as she stood.

"I'm going to talk to Strauss." Hotch announced then he walked out. Prentiss relaxed back into her seat with a huff. 

"I hope he's going to try and get Johnson transferred." She said. Morgan chuckled and leant back in his own chair. 

"I don't even know why she was placed with us." Morgan said. He glanced over at Reid, who had turned back to the files and a book he had found. "She's clearly not at any helpful point in her training, she didn't even know what victimology was." 

"I'll bet she's only in the academy for the agent status." Prentiss said with a nod. "Or for the view." She smirked and tilted her head towards Reid. 

"Speaking of views, how you doing, Pretty Boy?" Morgan said without thinking. Prentiss raised an eyebrow and smiled. She would've thought that a profiler would at least try to be more discreet.

"Hmm?" Morgan chuckled at the younger man and leant against the table to catch Reid's eyes. Prentiss laughed lightly at Reid's absent-minded response. Morgan reached over and gently shoved Reid's head to get his attention. "What?!" He said with a scowl. Both Morgan and Prentiss could see through the act he was putting on, pretending to be angry but fighting a smile. "I'm fine." He recognised the looks the other agents were giving him. "I need to tell Garcia something." Morgan watched as Reid collected the files and walked out of the conference room. Prentiss bit back a laugh as Morgan leant back in his chair so that he could watch Reid walk towards the stairs. 

Morgan couldn't help but let his eyes follow the gentle sway of Reid's hips, something he'd noticed before but hadn't really realised was so pronounced, and now he'd seen it, he couldn't tear his eyes off of it. 

\----

Morgan wanted nothing more than to grab the lithe hips that were taunting him a few feet away but they had a job to do and he couldn't afford to be that inappropriate. 

Reid and Garcia had managed to narrow the parameters of her search down to two potential UnSubs. So Reid, Morgan and Hotch were approaching a nice, unassuming suburban house while JJ, Prentiss and Rossi were checking the other lead. And Morgan was trying his hardest to focus on the case. 

Normally, he was good at separating his work and personal lives but they were so closely related this time that he was finding it difficult. 

Reid found it easier to focus his brain on the job but he wasn't oblivious to Morgan's lingering gaze. Though he wasn't sure he understood it; Morgan had always had an interest in women and their physique, he couldn't see why that would suddenly change to an interest in his slim body. But he still wasn't ready to risk asking Morgan about it. 

When the agents split up to search the house, Morgan could finally concentrate. He could hear the occassional shout from the others as they searched the house. He had just finished clearing the upstairs when there was a loud scuffle below him. 

"Put it down." He heard Reid demand. He hurried downstairs. "Sir, you don't need to do this." Morgan followed Reid's voice and entered the room slowly, his gun raised. Reid had his gun trained on the UnSub but Hotch was held in the UnSub's grasp with a gun against his temple. 

Hotch didn't look concerned with the situation, his gaze trained on Reid as the young agent tried to defuse the situation. He trusted his team. 

"No, I know how this is going to go." The UnSub said, shaking his head and pushing the gun against Hotch's head more firmly. 

"It's going to go a lot worse if you kill a federal agent." Reid reasoned. The UnSub faltered slightly, staring at Reid. "Just let Agent Hotch go and we can talk." Morgan kept his eyes on the UnSub to make sure he was ready if the guy made the wrong move. The UnSub stuttered, his grip on the gun relaxing slightly. Just enough for Hotch to knock the gun out of the man's hand and cuff him without much of a struggle. 

Once they were sure that Hotch had the UnSub secured, Reid and Morgan reholstered their weapons and took a breath. 

"Good job, kid." Morgan praised easily. Reid smiled gratefully and followed Hotch out of the house. Morgan dropped his head back and groaned before he joined them out at the cars. 

The ride back to the office was a quiet one besides Hotch filling the rest of the team in.

"Don't go home too late, Reid." Hotch said with a firm look. Reid rolled his eyes but smiled and nodded his head. 

After he sat down, he quickly got so focused on his paperwork that he didn't notice everyone else in the office leaving to go home. A firm hand on his shoulder startled him enough to bring his attention away from the file in front of him. 

"Come on, Spence." Morgan said softly. Reid blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes then he looked up to Morgan. 

"But I haven't..." He said, half-heartedly gesturing to the file on his desk. Morgan simply raised an eyebrow and waited. Reid sighed but started to pack his things. 

"I'll get you home." 

Derek walked behind Spencer as they made their way up to Spencer's apartment. He wasn't entirely sure if Spencer was going to let him stay again but he had brought an extra go-bag just in case. 

"Will you stay?" Spencer asked nervously once they were both in the apartment. He didn't want to appear weak to his friend but his mind was racing, unwanted thoughts were pushing their way to the front, and he didn't want to be alone with them. Derek was a good distraction for him. 

"Of course," Derek agreed with a smile. "Why don't you go and take a shower?" Spencer hovered for a moment then slipped into the bathroom with a little nod. Derek called to order a pizza before he hurried down to his car to grab his extra bag. 

Spencer stared at himself in the mirror after his shower. The bruises on his torso were beginning to turn yellow and the ones on his arms and thighs were brown, almost fully healed, but the ones on his neck were still purple. He ran light fingers over them and sighed heavily, he wanted them gone. He knew that the bruises on his neck should have been at the same point of healing as his torso but he also knew why they weren't. Spencer closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wincing at the twinge of pain it caused his still healing ribs. He carefully pulled on the softest sweatpants he owned and tugged one of Derek's shirts over his head; he'd sneaked it out of Derek's bag when he first left the hospital after Markson was arrested and it's loose fit had felt more comfortable over his injuries. Spencer bit his lip nervously when he heard Derek re-enter his apartment, none of the team knew about the dark bruises on his neck because he had made sure to wear his scarf around them. 

Spencer shuffled into the living room. He couldn't help the smile that spread on his face when he saw Derek. The other man had set up his laptop on the coffee table and had gathered some blankets to make the couch cosier. 

"Feeling better?" Derek asked when he noticed Spencer in the doorway. A warmth stirred low in Derek's stomach when he saw Spencer wearing his shirt. He had known that the man had taken the shirt but he hadn't seen Spencer wearing it. And, didn't he look good wearing it. It was when Derek was admiring the other man that he noticed the bruising on Spencer's neck. "What?" Spencer looked away, embarrassed. Derek approached him and raised his hand up to Spencer's neck but not touching the other man's skin. "Spence?" He couldn't understand why the bruises hadn't healed yet. Spencer gently took Derek's hand and guided him back to the couch. They both sat down and Derek pulled one of the blankets over Spencer's shoulders. Derek's eyes fell on Spencer's neck once again. "Why are they still like this?" Derek asked softly. Spencer lifted his hand and pressed his fingers against the bruises there. 

"I have nightmares." Spencer said. Derek frowned and took Spencer's hand in his. "And sometimes I wake up with my hand around my throat." Derek pulled Spencer into a tight hug, stroking his hand over the man's back. Spencer stayed tense for a moment then melted into Derek's touch. Derek slid down to lay back on the couch, pulling Spencer with him. Their legs fell between each others and Spencer nuzzled his face into Derek's neck. 

As Spencer lay on Derek, the older man's hand stroking his back, his brain began to quieten. He sighed at the feeling of peace. Derek closed his eyes and tightened his arm around the man. They embraced the comfort of each other for a while, not needing to say anything. 

"Leave it." Derek grumbled, half-asleep, when Spencer's phone started to ring. 

"It could be Hotch." Spencer argued. Derek chuckled and shifted slightly. Spencer pulled his phone out of his pocket and sat up, oblivious to the position the action put him in. Derek bit his lip, admiring the young profiler as he answered his phone. "Reid." Spencer's face lit up at the voice on the other end of the phone. "Are you back?" Derek frowned. "I'm busy right now but if I don't have a case then I'll be free tomorrow night.... Ok, I'll see you then." As soon as he had hung up, he laid back down. 

"Who was that?" Derek asked. Spencer smiled against Derek's neck. 

"He's a friend, from the fugitive task force." He answered. 

"What are you two doing tomorrow?" Spencer sat back again so that he could look at Derek, who was barely hiding his jealousy. Spencer didn't fully understand why Derek was feeling jealousy but he supposed that the team wouldn't expect for him to have other friends. 

"Just to a diner to catch up." Spencer said. "He's been chasing an UnSub at the Mexican border for the last 2 months." Without a word, Spencer laid back down. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit Derek self-loving, nothing explicit yet though

It had been a long day of paperwork. Spencer often returned to his desk after getting coffee with more files than he had left with and his friends glancing away from him innocently. It had gone slowly but eventually Derek drove him home. 

"Are you going to go home while I'm out?" Spencer asked as Derek followed him into his apartment. 

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that." Derek said, though his tone said that he definitely had not forgotten.

"I don't think I'll be gone long but I don't know." Spencer dropped his bag on his desk then flopped onto the couch. Derek closed his eyes for a second and joined Spencer, not bothering to take his jacket off. 

"Yeah, I'll go home. Just let me know when you get home safe, ok?" Derek said softly. After Spencer nodded, he stood up again and pressed a kiss to Spencer's hair before he headed out of the door. 

Spencer stayed sat on the couch for a moment, just thinking. His mind racing. Running over every interaction he had with Derek; every touch, every word, every intonation. All of it mattered now. It always mattered, of course. But now, _now,_ it meant something to him, to both of them. At least, he hoped it meant something to Derek too. He didn't think that Derek was the sort of person to lead someone on but you could never be sure... Spencer wasn't sure. With a heavy sigh, Spencer dropped his head in his hands then pushed himself up to leave too. 

"Spence." Spencer turned to the call and a bright smile spread across his cheeks. 

"Luke."

\----

Derek entered his house with a sigh. He hadn't spent the night in his own home in two weeks and, while he was happy to stay with Spencer, it felt good to be home. He made quick work of cleaning, not that the house really needed it. Then he relaxed on the couch to watch some TV. Anything to pass the time. 

He wasn't used to this feeling. Want and lust, yes he'd felt that all before. But, the pit in his stomach when Spencer wasn't in view, that was new. Before, he'd assumed his protectiveness and care for the young profiler was friendship or brotherhood at best, and perhaps that was all it started out as, but, as time went by, the feelings developed and deepened. Everytime he saw Spencer in danger; the L.D.S.K in that hospital, the train, Tobias Hankel, the Anthrax attack, Liberty Ranch, the gunshot to his leg. There had been so many times when he thought they were going to lose the genius. And everytime he felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. 

Spencer just looked so innocent, always had. His big doe eyes, growing more emotional as time went by, his wild hair, his lithe body hidden beneath sweater vests, his intelligent rambles and nervous stutters spilling from full lips. 

Derek had watched Spencer as he begun to grow more confident over time; awkward, ill-fitting clothes became dashing suits (though he never lost his typical Spencer cardigans and vests and Derek wouldn't want him to), he was more sure of his input on cases, he showed his affection towards his team more. 

Derek pushed the heel of his hand against his crotch as he thought of his Pretty Boy. He adored being able to hold the man but he spent so much brain power trying to not reveal how much he really enjoyed being close to him. It was a relief to let his body react.

A quick glance to the windows showed that the curtains were drawn and he tentatively opened his pants. Flashes of Spencer gazing up at him, lips parted, appeared in his brain as he wrapped his hand around himself. The memory of Spencer sat on his lap with his phone in hand morphed into an erotic fantasy. To Spencer bouncing and rocking, face twisted in pleasure and nails dragging over Derek's chest. Would Spencer be a vocal lover or would he bit his lip to smother his moans, Derek wondered. His hand sped up to match the pace of his imagination. Derek was pleasantly surprised at how vivid an image his mind was producing. He could see the pleasure in Spencer's wide eyes, the redness of his lips, the delicate blush that spread up his neck. Derek gasped as his orgasm drew closer. 

"Spencer..." He whispered into the empty room. His hand sped up again. If he hadn't wanted Spencer curled against him before, he definitely wished the genius was with him now. But he was out. With his... _friend._

Derek quickly shoved the thought of Spencer meeting his friend out of his mind and focused back on the image of Spencer writhing in his lap, clutching and clawing at him to ground himself as he was overwhelmed with sensation. The thought and image of Derek giving Spencer that much pleasure had him releasing all over himself with a grunt and a moan that sounded remarkably like 'Spencer'. 

Spencer was still on his mind as he caught his breath. As the fog of arousal cleared, he was glad that Spencer was meeting with his friends. Surely, it wouldn't do him much good to just be around Derek 24/7. He loved that Spencer had people who cared about him, after so many people had left him, Spencer deserved to feel wanted, cared for, loved. 

\----

Spencer was content in Luke's presence, not like when he was with the team or with Derek, but he enjoyed the other man's company. 

"Enough work talk, Spence. Something is different about you." Luke commented with a knowing smile. Spencer felt his cheeks heat up and he glanced away shyly. Luke chuckled and took a sip of his drink. "Is it something to do with a certain SSA Derek Morgan?" 

One of the reasons Spencer enjoyed being friends with Luke was because he wasn't part of the B.A.U, it was an escape from the team. It had taken him a long time and some long conversations with Rossi to admit it. He had thought that he was betraying the team for needing someone outside of it, but Rossi had told him that it was ok to need a friend who he didn't spend a majority of his days and nights with, that not even most blood family spent as much time together as the team did. And Luke was someone who understood what it was like to work in the FBI, someone who understood the inconsistant schedules. Luke was someone he could talk about the team to without the fear that he'd go and tell or accidently spill Spencer's secrets to the team; secrets like his crush on Derek. Spencer knew that the team suspected, they were profilers after all, but Luke was the only one he had admitted it to.

"We are getting closer and I think... I'm beginning to hope that he feels the same way about me. More than what I did before what happened in Maine." Spencer confessed softly. Luke smiled and took Spencer's hand as a show of support. 

"Have you asked him?" Luke asked. Spencer pulled his hand and tucked his hair behind his ear nervously. "If you haven't asked him then you aren't going to know how he feels." 

"I just don't want to ruin it. I don't want him to push me away if I mention it." Luke hummed in understanding and shifted closer to his friend.

"He's waiting on you, isn't he?" Luke asked gently. Spencer chuckled and showed Luke the texts he'd gotten from Derek. They weren't anything special really, just random comments on whatever show he was watching or whatever he was eating or thinking, but it made Luke smile. "How'd he feel about you coming here tonight?" 

"He was jealous... I don't know why though, he doesn't get jealous when I go to JJ's for dinner or when me and Rossi go to museums." Spencer said. Luke raised his eyebrow incredulously. Spencer shrugged.

"You have no idea why he was jealous? At all?" Luke asked slowly. Spencer frowned at the tone and clasped his hands together. "And you told him that you were meeting me?" 

"Yeah." Luke chuckled again and shook his head. 

"How are you so smart but completely clueless?" He asked, not unkindly. Spencer's frown deepened and he looked up at his friend to see if there was any malice in his face. 

"What do you mean?" Spencer's voice was small, betraying his worry. 

"He was jealous that you were going out to meet a man he hasn't met before." Luke said. Spencer opened his mouth to argue when his phone buzzed with another message. 

_Derek Morgan_

_19:38pm- Rossi says that it's your turn to bring dessert this weekend. That friend of yours don't count, bring cake or something._

"Oh, he's jealous alright." Luke teased. Spencer stared at the text then glanced up at Luke. 

"Why don't you come to dinner on Saturday so he can see that you're just my friend?" Spencer said. Luke laughed. 

"It probably doesn't mean all that much to him. But ok." Luke agreed. Spencer smiled gratefully and let them sit in comfortable silence for a moment. 

"Oh, how's Matt?"


	18. Chapter 18

The team's usual Saturday dinner turned into a full blown party by the time Saturday had arrived. One of Rossi's books had hit a record and the senior agent would take any excuse to celebrate. 

"Spencer!" David greeted with a wide smile. Spencer accepted David's cheek kisses with a smile too. "Oh, who did you bring?" 

"Luke Alvez." Luke said with his hand outstretched. "And Matt Simmons." David welcomed the same way he did the team, leaving Spencer chuckling behind his hand at the surprised looks on their faces. 

"Everyone else is here already." David said as he moved to greet more guests. Spencer smiled at the other agents and lead them through the house to the back garden where he knew the rest of his friends were waiting. 

"Spence!" JJ cheered when she spotted him. He was pulled into the arms of his friends before he even reached their table. 

"Who did you bring?" Garcia asked, skeptically eyeing Luke. 

"I think you already know Matt, but this is Luke Alvez, he works for the fugitive task force." Spencer introduced. He glanced at Derek nervously, his eyes flicking to a smirking Luke when he saw Derek's scowl. 

"Thought I told you to bring cake for dessert, Pretty Boy." Derek said lowly. Spencer rolled his eyes and sat down in the seat next to Derek. He slid the cake box onto the table. 

"I did bring cake." Derek tore his eyes from Luke and looked at Spencer. He laid his arm on the back of Spencer's chair as Luke pulled a seat up next to Spencer. 

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Spence?" Luke asked. Spencer frowned at the tone Luke was using but realised what he was trying to do when the other man winked. 

"Oh, yes." Spencer straightened, pressing his back against Derek's arm. "This is Derek Morgan." 

"I'd guessed." Luke said with a laugh. Derek's eyebrows pulled together in a frown. Spencer felt his cheeks heat up and he quickly moved along. 

"Over there..." Spencer pointed to the bar, where JJ and Will were talking to Aaron. "The blonde woman is JJ, she's married to Will and they're my godson, Henry's, parents. They're talking to Hotch. Jack, his son, is probably playing with Henry somewhere." Luke nodded along seriously but leant closer under the guise of needing to follow Spencer's eyeline. He could feel the glare that Derek was giving him but he paid him no mind. "Emily Prentiss and Penelope Garcia are talking with David Rossi and Matt by the house." Spencer turned to Luke. The man returned his stare and nodded. 

"Ok, I think I got it." Luke said. He patted Spencer's knee and fought a smile when Derek stood up abruptly. 

"I'll go get you a drink, Pretty Boy." He said before walking away muttering, "How hard is it to remember 7 people?" When Derek had his back to them, Luke leant back in his seat and smiled. 

"You going to try and convince me that wasn't jealousy, _Pretty Boy_?" Luke asked teasingly. Spencer watched Derek chat with JJ and Hotch for a moment then looked back to Luke. 

"I suppose it would be ignorant to ignore the evidence in front of me." Spencer said with a nod.

"I think it's safe to say he feels the same way as you do." Luke said. Spencer bit his lip and looked around at the people in the garden. Most of the guests he didn't know, they were people that David had met over the years, but he found comfort in knowing that he knew 8 of the attendees well. And David always made sure that the team had their own table at whatever gathering he was hosting. 

"Uncle Spencer!" Spencer turned to the shout and smiled brightly. He hugged Henry and Jack tightly. 

"Can you come and show us some magic?" Jack asked. He was already pulling on Spencer's hand so the man sent a quick, apologetic glance to Luke before he followed the boys to where Hotch and Matt were now standing. 

"How'd you know Spencer?" Derek asked roughly as he sat down. He kept his eyes on Spencer and the boys as he spoke, not bothering to look at Luke. 

"He did a consult for me about 5 years back and we stayed in contact." Luke said. Derek placed Spencer's drink on the table then settled back into his chair. "He's a good friend, despite what he thinks." Luke purposefully stressed the word 'friend', trying to get the message across without having to be direct. 

"Yeah, he's a good person. Been through more shit than he deserves." Derek said, almost to himself. 

"It's good that he has you and the team. I know he cares a lot about you all." Derek smiled slightly, nodding. His smile widened as he watched Spencer perform for the kids and Penelope. "I hear about you the most." 

"You do?" Luke chuckled at Derek's enthusiasm. Luke weighed the pros and cons of telling him about what Spencer was feeling but he ultimately decided that he couldn't betray Spencer's trust like that. That didn't mean he wasn't willing to suggest. 

"Yeah, he talks about all of you, your cases and everything. But he goes off on these long rambles about you." Luke saw Derek's face soften. Anyone who knew Spencer knew that Spencer rambled about things he was interested in, passionate about or cared for. "Hey, Derek?" Luke said to get Derek to look at him. "I do love Spencer, but as a friend, as a brother. You don't gotta worry about me." He continued when the other man turned to him. Derek's eyes flicked over Luke's face for a minute, then he nodded and smiled. 

"I'm glad he's got you to talk to." Derek admitted. Luke huffed a laugh and slapped Derek on the shoulder gently. Derek returned the gesture then sipped his beer. 

"You two getting along?" Spencer asked tentitively as he rejoined them at the table. He sat down and pointed at the lone drink on the table, silently asking if it was his. Derek nodded and put his arm behind Spencer's shoulder's again.

"We're fine." Luke assured. Spencer raised an eyebrow at the man. "Really, everything's fine." Spencer hummed skeptically then relaxed into his seat. 

Not long after, the rest of the team joined them at the table as David announced the arrival of dinner. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little filler of their developing relationship before the big case

Dinner was a noisy affair. The combined noise of his family and the other guests talking, the kids shouting and the music had Spencer longing the peace of his house more than anything. 

"You ok?" Derek murmured when he noticed Spencer rubbing at his eyes. 

"Loud." Derek frowned at the simple reply. He looked around for David and then hopped up to talk to him, leaving Spencer to lay his head on his arms. 

"Come on, Pretty Boy, I'm taking you home." Spencer raised his head sleepily and let himself be guided through the house. 

"I didn't say goodbye to everyone." Spencer complained once he was in the car. Derek patted his leg comfortingly then headed out of the driveway. 

"I told them you said goodbye, you can text them tomorrow." Derek said when they were on the road. Spencer whined then curled in his chair, relishing in the quiet rumble of the car. 

"This isn't my apartment." Spencer said obviously when Derek turned into his driveway. 

"I know. C'mon." Derek got out of the car then hurried around it to help Spencer out. 

"What about my car? I don't have a bag." Spencer grumbled. Derek chuckled quietly and guided the sleepy man into his house. There were a few more inaudible grumbles from Spencer as he was taken through the quiet house. A loud sigh left his lips when he was lowered onto a soft bed. He rolled over and buried his face into the pillow, inhaling the strong, concentrated scent of Derek. 

The older man stood next to the bed for a moment, just watching Spencer relax into the bed, then he moved to take Spencer's shoes and pants off so the man was more comfortable. He laid the cover over him and left him to lock the door. 

Spencer woke up a few hours later. He shifted to try and get more comfortable but his shirt was wrapping around him. A sliver of light coming from a gap in the curtains brought a smile to his face. Spencer sat up and looked around the dimly lit room, hoping to find his bag so he could change. He moved quietly so as to not wake Derek up and decided on grabbing one of Derek's shirt instead of spending too much time looking for his bag. Spencer slid back into the bed and turned to face Derek. After admiring the man's features for a minute, Spencer slowly turned away from Derek and pushed closer to him. He reached back and wrapped Derek's arm around his waist. 

"Spence?" Derek mumbled sleepily. Spencer froze, he didn't want Derek to pull away. 

"Yeah." He whispered back. Derek made a noise in the back of his throat then tightened his arms around Spencer, holding him flush against his body. Spencer bit his lip to stop the happy noise threatening to escape. 

"Go back t'sleep, b'by." Derek slurred. He stroked his hand over Spencer's stomach comfortingly. Eventually, Spencer fell back asleep. 

\----

Derek groaned at the light hitting his face. It took him a hazy minute to remember the man curled against him. Derek leant up on his elbow to gaze at Spencer; the sun streaming through the window caused a radiant glow on the man's face. Derek lifted his free hand to lightly stroke over Spencer's face but paused when Spencer shifted in his sleep, turning his head and upper torso towards Derek. Once he was sure Spencer was still asleep, Derek returned to admiring Spencer's features; he ran his fingertips over Spencer's cheek bones and over his jaw, his eyes ran over the brown curls splayed out on the pillow and he brushed his thumb over Spencer's lips. He took in the sight and wrapped his arm around Spencer's waist again. 

Spencer was drawn out of his dreams by a light press of lips to his neck and jaw. He whined lowly when the warm body rolled out of bed. 

"I'm just going to make breakfast, you can stay here." Derek said after a chuckle. Spencer stretched his arm across the bed and groaned. 

"Will you make coffee?" He asked softly. Derek smiled fond and brushed his hand through Spencer's hair. 

"No, I want to deal with a grumpy Spencer Reid this fine morning." Derek teased, earning him a half-hearted glare from the young profiler. "Come on, I'll make you coffee." Spencer took Derek's hand and let himself be pulled out of bed. Spencer slipped back into a comfortable sleep once he was left on the couch with a blanket, and only woke up again when a hot mug was placed into his hands. 

He listened to Derek working in the kitchen as he drank. Spencer laid his head on the back of the couch so he could watch the man working too. 

Spencer felt a warmth in his chest as he watched Derek; after waking up in the man's arms and how Derek took care of him, he was beginning to believe that Luke might have been right. 

They spent the day lazing on the couch. Spencer had started by reading but he ended up sprawled on the couch watching whatever TV show Derek had been watching all day. Derek had been absently rubbing his hand over Spencer's stomach while he watched but he looked down when his hand touched bare skin. Spencer hadn't seemed to have noticed but he turned to his friend when Derek lifted his shirt to look at the bruises that still lay there. Derek frowned at the sight and tugged Spencer's hand until he was straddling Derek's thighs. 

"Derek?" Spencer said confused. Derek didn't say a word, simply lifted the shirt again. Spencer felt goosebumps raising on his torso in wake of Derek's fingers trailing over the bruises. He released a surprised gasp when Derek leant forwards and lightly kissed the marks. Spencer's hands flew up to clutch at Derek's shoulders as he was tugged forward slightly, though he wasn't sure if he intended to push Derek away or pull him closer. The decision was made for him when Derek's lips brushed over his nipple, he clenched his fingers into Derek's shoulders and pulled him closer with another gasp escaping his lips. Spencer had never experienced the sensations Derek was causing before. He didn't know that such a simple gesture- a gesture that many parents expressed to their children when they hurt themselves- could feel so pure and good. Derek's hands rested on Spencer's thighs, tightening periodically to reassure the man. The light kisses continued over every inch of the bruises. Derek's hands moved to hold Spencer's waist and he moved to kiss the dark bruises on his neck. Spencer closed his eyes and tilted his head back. 

They were both buzzing from the energy between them, the connection between them deepening. Derek leant back to look at Spencer, smirking at the quiet whine he released. Spencer returned the gaze and moved his hand to cup Derek's neck gently, letting his thumb stroke over Derek's jaw. Derek tucked Spencer's hair behind his ear and cupped his cheek. He bit his lip as he watched Spencer's eyes close in contentment and he leant into the hand. Derek started to leant towards the younger man, pulling Spencer closer too. 

A loud groan left Derek when his phone beeped loudly from the coffee table. Spencer laughed lightly while Derek dropped his head back on the couch in frustration. Derek wrapped his arm around Spencer's waist and then bent forward to grab the phone. 

"I'm sorry, Pretty Boy, it's Garcia." Derek said apologetically after reading the text. 

"Is she ok?" Spencer asked, his voice high and concerned. Derek sent him a fond smile. 

"Yeah, she just watched a movie and got scared. She wants me to go over." Spencer nodded and carefully climbed off Derek's lap. Derek stood too and laid a hand on Spencer's waist to keep him from going too far. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Garcia needs you." Spencer said with a small smile. Derek returned the smile and placed a lingering kiss on Spencer's cheek. "I'm going to visit Emily. I've been meaning to go over there." 

"I'll drive you over there, it's on the way. Text me when you're ready to come home." Derek decided. Spencer felt his heart beat faster at Derek's words and he felt the heat in his cheeks. 

"Ok." Spencer said simply. 

The quiet in the car was comfortable; a comfort that had taken years to settle but was one of the best parts of their connection, they didn't have to fill the silence to enjoy each others company. They sat outside of Emily's apartment for a few minutes before either of them spoke. 

"I'll text you." Spencer said softly so as to maintain the quiet ease. Derek patted his knee and turned Spencer's head with his finger. 

"Have fun." Derek murmured before pressing another prolonged kiss to Spencer's cheek, though closer to the corner of his mouth than before. "Go, have fun, baby." Derek said, gently shoving Spencer out of the car. 

"Tell Penelope I send my love." Derek nodded and then watched Spencer walk up to the building. He let himself watch Spencer's hips again, smiling indulgently as he did so, then he started the car and headed to Penelope's. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched American Horror Story and was inspired. This is just an introduction to the case and I'm currently working on the main bit of it, I hope that it will span for longer than the other cases and that means I need to work harder to write it well so as to not rush through it. Please be patient with me, more is coming, it just might take a minute.

Hotch stood in the conference room, laying files out on the table while the team fueled up on coffee and woke up enough to process the case they had just been called about. He was listening to Garcia talk happily, a smile on his face at her sunshine personality. 

"Jack was asking if you would come and help him with a school project." Hotch said when Garcia trailed off. Her bright grin was infectious and he returned it with a small smile of his own. 

"Oh, I'd love to." She exclaimed before starting a new ramble about the ideas she had. The team slowly trickled in, taking their seats one by one. 

"Garcia?" Hotch interrupted carefully when everyone was present. 

"Yes, of course." She stopped herself and shuffled up to the screen, remote in hand. "We are heading to Alaska. There have been 5 couples who have been found dead at a house in the middle of a forest over the last two years; Marcie and Desmond Jackson, Elijah Hall and Michael Tompson, Lacie and Angela Young, Alex Henton and Ellie Ohma, and Charlie and Maya Robson. They were all interracial couples, though the same-sex couples were harrassed more before being murdered and were killed much more ruthlessly. Other owners of the home who didn't fit the UnSub's critera were simply driven out of the house, with minor injuries at best."

"There isn't much information about the case since the bodies were found days after they were killed and the police was reluctant to answer any calls to the house due to the lack of evidence before the bodies turn up. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch said. "Morgan, Reid, my office." The two agents shared concerned looks while Prentiss and JJ 'ooh'ed childishly. 

"Is something wrong?" Morgan asked as they took their seats in Hotch's office. 

"I think the best way to proceed with this case is to have agents undercover in the house." Hotch began, "I'd like for you two to stay at the house, posing as a couple. Of course, if you aren't comfortable with it, I will think of another way to get the evidence we need but this UnSub reacts to homosexual, interracial couples the strongest and I believe you two are best suited to do so. The rest of the team and I would stay at a hotel in the closest town and we would make contact regularly, so that there could be no suspicions in the UnSub's mind that you are a normal couple. All you would be required to do is to live in the house and document anything and everything that happens. You would be allowed to keep your guns for protection but, for obvious reasons, we would keep your credentials. We aren't sure how long this will take, and we may have to continue to work on other cases while you stay at the house but I will allow you both to consult from the house if we have to do so." Morgan and Reid nodded along with Hotch's explanation then looked at each other. "I'll step out for a minute so you can discuss it." 

"I think we should do it." Reid said as soon as Hotch closed the door. "This way we keep civilians safe from the UnSub and get time together." Reid blushed deeply at the words that fell from his tongue but Morgan looked happy to hear it. 

"I agree. It's basically a paid vacation." Morgan said with a smirk. Reid rolled his eyes fondly and shook his head. Morgan nudged him good-naturedly and then called Hotch back in. 

"We'll do it." Morgan said for them both. A pleased look appeared on Hotch's face and he nodded. 

"Ok, I'll have someone pack your things and have them shipped to the house. If there's anything you won't need then let me know, otherwise everything will be packed. I'll brief everyone on the jet." Hotch gestured towards the door as he stood and followed behind the agents as they headed down to their desks to grab their go-bags. 

Morgan rolled his eyes at the gleefully inquisitive looks from JJ and Prentiss when they stepped onto the plane. The girls shifted on their seats, closer to them when they sat, and waited impatiently for any information. 

"Are you guys in trouble?" Prentiss teased when the boys didn't humour them. 

"No, they aren't." Hotch replied for them. "I'll fill you in when Garcia gets here." Rossi, Prentiss and JJ shared confused looks, Garcia didn't join them on cases very often. They perked up when Garcia bustled in and dropped herself onto the couch. 

Reid watched each member of the team's faces carefully while Hotch was explaining the plan; concern being the primary emotion on everyone. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rossi asked after Hotch finished. 

"We have to find out who's killing these couples." Reid said easily. 

"I'm not going to turn down a vacation." Morgan said with a laugh. The team responded with their own chuckles, his plan to lighten the mood working. 

"Try and get some sleep, it's a long flight." Hotch said sternly when everyone calmed down enough. Rossi snickered at Hotch's use of his 'dad' voice and Prentiss and the younger members of the team quickly doing as they're told. Morgan 'shoo'ed Garcia off the couch so that Reid could claim it for a nap while he took the seat across from him. Garcia joined Prentiss and JJ at the table while Hotch and Rossi moved to the other table to discuss the case further. 


	21. Chapter 21

The team went straight to the house after they landed, Hotch wanted to get Morgan and Reid settled as soon as possible. It was a decrepit looking two storey house that looked like it had been abandonded for years despite having been occupied a month before. 

The team looked around the entrance room in awe; it was a large space that lead to the other rooms and housed a grand spiral staircase in the centre. 

"How did we afford this place?" JJ asked as she ventured into the kitchen. Hotch chuckled breathlessly. 

"It was cheap." He answered, "I managed to convince the higher-ups that it was a matter of public safety, so they allowed some of the budget to buy it." 

The house itself was old fashioned but there were modern fixtures in place; like the fridge, or the TV, or the WiFi. Reid, of course, found himself drawn to the study and the empty bookshelves it held. Morgan and Rossi were looking at the living room, while Prentiss and Hotch were exploring upstairs. Garcia bounced between rooms like she was at Ikea, opening anything that could be opened. 

"I'm jealous." Prentiss called from the top of the stairs. 

"You're going to have to stay jealous, we need to get to the hotel to check in." Hotch said. They reconvened in the entrance way, Prentiss and Garcia still looking around awestruck. "Your belongings should be here by the end of tomorrow. We'll come back and visit next week, and we will let you know whenever we get a lead." 

After some quick goodbyes, Spencer and Derek found themselves in the living room. 

"Just you and me now, Pretty Boy." Derek said as he pulled Spencer closer. Spencer chuckled and let himself be lead into Derek's arms. 

"We should explore the house properly." Spencer said, his voice soft. "Let's start from the top and work our way down." 

They both headed up to the attic, purposefully ignoring all the rooms they passed to get there. The attic was like most other attics, full of old belongings and furniture. Spencer spent some time looking through the old photos he found and Derek looked through all the boxes to see if he could find anything interesting. It really did feel like they were moving in. But he supposed they were, even if only temporarily. 

Eventually, they made it down to the second floor. Though not as visually stimulating as the attic, it was very picturesque. The second floor was made up of 4 sizeable bedrooms, a bathroom and a master bedroom with an en-suite. There was also a small coat cupboard on the landing, like a cupboard that would go under the stairs, that gave Derek a weird feeling so he found a way to block it shut. 

The first floor was explored quickly; it consisted of the entrance way, the kitchen, the study, an empty room and the living room. 

Then they found the door to the basement. 

The basement brought an almost overwhelming sense of unease. Derek moved his hand to rest on his gun and Spencer followed him cautiously. Overall, the basement was like any other. There was a boiler and electrics that ran the house, there was more furniture and other bits and pieces. But there was an unsettling feeling that permeated the air. They made a silent decision to block the basement door too. 

Once they were out of the basement, the bad feeling lifted. Derek dropped onto the couch with a sigh, shuffling into the corner. Spencer smiled at the man then went to the kitchen. 

"We need to go food shopping tomorrow." Spencer said when he returned. He climbed onto the couch, settling himself between Derek and the couch easily. Derek huffed a laugh and wrapped his arm around the younger man. 

"Is there nothing to eat?" Derek asked. He was scrolling through Netflix as he listened to Spencer. 

"No, I don't think they had enough time to plan that far ahead." Spencer said. He laid his head on Derek's chest and wrapped his arm around his waist. They fell into silence as Derek chose a movie. Derek knew that whatever he chose would come with a free commentary from Spencer so he picked one he knew well. 

"What are you doing?" Derek asked when Spencer began to shift and wiggle. Instead of answering, Spencer sat up and unclipped his gun and holster before snuggling back against Derek's side. "You want to share the master?" Derek said softly an hour later. 

"Mhmm." Derek stroked Spencer's hair back and glanced down as much as he could. 

"You tired now?" Spencer hummed and shifted, lifting his leg to rest it on Derek's thigh and tightening his arm slightly before relaxing again. "We can go to bed."

"I know you want to finish the movie." Spencer answered. Derek turned his attention back to the movie. 

Spencer was half asleep when Derek lead him up to bed after the movie ended. Though he withheld a level of alertness every time they passed a dark room but he felt his heart calm when he was being held under the covers in bed. 

The first night was uneventful. Spencer woke up slowly the next morning, he was half laying on Derek and the other man was caressing his back soothingly. They laid in silence, enjoying the moment and the warmth they created. 

"We should be getting up, need to get food so we can be back for whenever our stuff gets here." Derek said, his voice low. Spencer whined and pressed himself closer. Derek chuckled and pulled Spencer closer. They stayed still, embracing the moment and each other for another minute.

"We got to go shopping." Derek murmured against Spencer's hair. Spencer leant back a little bit and slowly opened his eyes. There was a deep fondness in Derek's eyes that brought a pleased blush to his cheeks. 

"Ok." Spencer said softly. He slid off the bed and grabbed some clothes out of his bag. Derek laid back to stare at the ceiling while Spencer got changed. "Derek, you're meant to be getting dressed." Spencer's stern voice drew him out of his thoughts. Derek chuckled and pulled himself out of bed. 

Spencer made his way downstairs sluggishly. He was hoping that there was magically some coffee in the cupboards but he wasn't holding his breath. After looking through nearly every cupboard, Spencer sighed and opened the last cupboard. Tucked away in the cupboard was a container of coffee and a note. 

_I know you aren't a fan of instant coffee but you'll have to make do until you stock up. It's all I had on me.  
_ _Penelope._

A smile made its way onto Spencer's face and he felt a rush of happiness. He took two mugs out of one of the cupboards he'd opened before he turned to the stove to fill up the kettle. Two arms slid around his waist while he was pouring the water into the mugs. 

"Where'd you find that?" Derek asked softly. Spencer smiled to himself and pointed to the note Penelope left. He felt cold when Derek stepped away but he didn't feel that he wasn't going to experience that again. "I'll get her a new squishy to thank her." Spencer handed Derek his coffee with a fond glance then shuffled to the living room. In the quiet of the morning, they could hear the birds chirping and the trees rustling outside. 

"If it weren't for the UnSub, this would be a nice place to live." Spencer commented as he looked out of the window at the treeline. Derek huffed a small laugh and nodded. They quietly finished their coffee then they headed to the closest town in the SUV the team left behind.


	22. Chapter 22

The moving vans were sat outside of the house when the agents returned. Four men climbed out of the vans as Spencer and Derek did. 

"Mr Morgan, Dr. Reid, I presume." A large man greeted with a smile and an outstretched hand. Derek shook it with a smile of his own and Spencer gave his usual wave before he slid the groceries out of the back seat. "Mr Hotchner said we were to carry everything inside." 

"I'll help you. Work will move faster with five of us." Derek said. Spencer bowed his head and used his knee to push one of the bags up into his arms. 

"Dr. Reid won't be helping us?" Another man asked. Derek chuckled and glanced back to Spencer.

"No, my boyfriend doesn't have any upper body strength." Spencer rolled his eyes and carried the groceries into the house. The moving men laughed with Derek then opened the back of their vans and the five of them got to work. 

Spencer watched Derek carrying their belongings into the house as he unpacked their food. His mind replaying Derek's words over and over as he watched. How he longed for the words to be true. For Derek to believe and want the same. But he knew that they were playing a part. That any interaction with the locals would be as a couple so that the word got out. 

That didn't stop him from gazing at Derek's arms as he hauled their things into the entrance way. They were chatting amongst themselves; talking about local places to visit, about who was friendly and who wasn't. Spencer listened. 

Eventually, Spencer made his way out of the house to check their progess.

"Come and have a break, I'll make you all a drink." Spencer suggested with a small, polite smile. Derek's face softened into a fond smile and the other men looked relieved. They gathered in the kitchen. The sweaty men sat down at the island, each releasing sighs of relief. Spencer took some soda out of the fridge and handed them to the men, starting with Derek. 

"How long have you two been together?" The shortest moving man asked. Spencer turned wide eyes to Derek. They hadn't discussed what they were going to tell the locals yet. 

"We've been working together for nearly a decade but I asked him out about a year ago." Derek answered easily, shooting Spencer a wink. At Spencer's blush, the moving men let out boyish 'oo's and nudged each other. 

"What made you move out here? You know what happened in the house, right?" Spencer and Derek shared a look. Spencer reached into his pocket and began to record the conversation. 

"What happened?" Spencer asked. The moving men looked at each other then leant forward. 

"You guys are the fifteenth couple we've helped move in here. The house had been empty for 30 years before the first couple moved in 3 years ago. They lived here for two months or something before they just up and left in the middle of the night, they had been claiming that some family had been bothering them the whole time." The large man explained. "We thought they were crazy but then everytime someone new moved in they'd claim that some family was harassing them and move out after a few weeks or months. No one died until the Jackson's."

"It was horrible." The shorter man commented with a shudder. The other moving men nodded in agreement. 

"Did you guys find them?" Derek asked. 

"Mhmm, after the first few started leaving with cuts and bruises, we started checking in on the people living here." The moving man with brown hair said. Derek frowned. 

"It was worse when we found Eli and Mike." Said the man with longer hair. He said it in a far off voice, like he was remembering. "They were all cut up, _everywhere._ I could barely tell it was them when I found them." 

"Like, the monsters that did it clearly has a problem with black and white couples but it's something else when..." The shorter man trailed off, his eyes flicking between Spencer and Derek.

"When it's an interracial gay couple?" Spencer finished for him. Derek reached over and stroked Spencer's arm comfortingly. The man nodded and downed the rest of his drink. Once everyone had finished their drinks, the men got back to work while Spencer started to unpack his books in the study. 

"You'll be careful?" The large man said as they were getting back into their vans. Derek and Spencer smiled at him, Derek's arm slipping around Spencer's waist. 

"Yeah, don't worry about us too much." Derek replied. They waved as the vans disappeared down the dirt road then turned back to the house. The entrance way was full of boxes; the only things that weren't sat there was Spencer's books, which Derek had purposefully put in the study while they were working so that Spencer could get started with unpacking. "This is going to take a while." Spencer nodded in agreement then walked back to the study. Derek watched him walk away and shook his head in disbelief. He took a deep breath as he stared at the piles of boxes then started to move them into the appropriate rooms. 


	23. Chapter 23

Nothing really happened over the first week and they were starting to forget why they were at the house in the first place. Well, Derek was starting to forget. Spencer had noticed some strange things. 

Without the team looming over them, Derek had been touching him more; wrapping his arms around Spencer's waist while the younger man cooked, or holding him against his side when they were watching TV or while they slept, or kissing his cheek as they passed or before he went into town. But that wasn't what was strange. It was that, whenever Derek went to do something that couldn't be discredited as platonic like kissing his cheek a little too close to his lips or let his hands wander when they were hugging, there always seemed to be a sound that didn't fit. And Spencer knew it seemed crazy and sounds were in no way evidence to anything but they kept happening. Spencer would lean into Derek's arms and said arms would be slung low on his waist, with all the potential to slip lower, then he'd hear a sound from outside or down in the basement. Just a knock, or a rustle, or a scratch. Something that Derek dismissed everytime as the house settling but Spencer wasn't convinced. It was too convenient and the noises happened too consistently to be a coincidence. 

And, as scary as Spencer was finding it, it was getting frustrating. 

Everytime Derek got close to finally touching him like he wanted, a noise would scare him. Spencer had told Hotch and the team about the noises but there wasn't much that could be done about sounds. 

And Derek continued to dismiss the sounds, until one night during the second week. 

Derek was dozing on the couch and Spencer was in his usual place curled against Derek's side with his limbs wrapped around the man. Spencer was watching a documentary that Derek had found for him, surprisingly quietly, and Derek's hand had found its way to Spencer's hip. It was when they were lulled by the moment that a loud banging echoed through the house. Spencer and Derek shot upright in their seats. Derek moved on instinct, drawing his gun out of the side table and starting towards the sound. Spencer followed slowly, his heart racing. 

It was annoying to him that his mind wouldn't work as though it were a case rather than them being the victims. He had been a victim too many times and this wasn't like those times; he had control this time, Derek was there this time, his team knew where they were this time. They both froze when they found the source of the noise. 

The, still blocked, basement door was rattling under the continuous force hitting it from the other side. 

"What the- How the fuck are they inside the house?" Derek muttered softly. He didn't want whoever was on the other side of the door to hear him. 

"We didn't check the basement properly." Spencer tried to reason but Derek could hear the fear in his voice. Derek reached his free hand back and took Spencer's hand, in a vain attempt to comfort him. "I told you I kept hearing things." Spencer whispered, he tried to sound angry but it came out as a whine. 

"You said you heard small noises, Spence. Not this." Derek whispered back. Spencer shook his head but squeezed Derek's hand. The banging continued for a few minutes before it stopped, leaving the house almost deadly silent. "Let's go to bed." Spencer followed easily as Derek pulled him back to the living room to turn the TV off then upstairs to their room. 

"What if he gets in?" Spencer voiced nervously once they were in bed. Derek frowned and tugged him flush against his front. He pressed a few light kisses to Spencer's neck. 

"If he gets in, we both have our guns and we both have hand-to-hand combat training." Derek answered calmly. Spencer took a few deep breaths and nodded. It took him a few more minutes to relax but he did. "We'll look in the basement in the morning."

Derek woke up first the next morning. He left Spencer asleep in bed with a lingering kiss to the sleeping man's cheek. Before he made them both coffee or started breakfast, Derek eased his paranoia by checking both blocked doors and making sure that the doors and windows were still locked. He chuckled at his own antics when everything was in order then got to work on making their breakfast. 

"Derek." Spencer said through a yawn as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey, you alright? Sleep ok?" Spencer hummed and leant into Derek's side, his eyes wandering outside absently. "We can look in the basement after breakfast, ok?" Spencer muffled a wimper and nodded instead.

They both hovered outside the basement door when they were finished with their breakfast. Derek, especially, was used to busting through doors but there was something about this one that had him hesitating. Maybe it was because they know that an UnSub was targetting them. Or, maybe, it was because the UnSub had been on the other side of that door. 

"You have your gun?" Derek asked over his shoulder. Spencer grumbled to himself then hurried upstairs to grab his gun. 

"Ok." Spencer said when he returned. Derek swallowed nervously and took a deep breath. Then he moved the blockade from the door as quietly as he could. The tense, uneasy feeling settled in their stomachs when the door was slowly opened. They didn't know what they were going to find.

And that was usually a given. With their job, they often walked right into unknown situations but they were normally backed-up with the team and local officers. It wasn't normally somewhere they were calling home, temporarily or otherwise. So, they were on edge. 

They took each step cautiously. Derek took point and Spencer followed close behind. Luckily, the basement was just one big room with few places to hide and some tension lifted when they saw that there was no-one hiding down there. 

"So, how did they get in?" Derek questioned, lowering his gun but not holstering it. 

"There's a window over here but it's barred and there's no hinges or bolts that could open it." Spencer said from across the basement. Derek hummed and began moving furniture around to check behind it. 

"Spencer." Derek called. Spencer frowned at his tone and hurried to his side. "This is how they got in." Hidden behind some palettes and a big, wooden slat was a hole that lead to a dark tunnel. It was too dark to see where the tunnel went or how deep it was but they could see that it opened up enough so they would both be able to stand easily if they were to enter it. But they weren't going to go in the tunnel. Instead, they found the heaviest things in the basement and shoved them against the wood and palettes then they re-blocked the basement door. "Where else did you hear noise from?" Derek asked seriously when he was done. Spencer looked around the entrance way as though he thought something was going to jump out of one of the rooms. 

"Erm..." Spencer hummed. He thought back to everytime he heard the sounds and his brows furrowed. "I heard them outside and..." Derek watched as Spencer's eyes widened then he hurried upstairs to the coats closet on the second floor. 

"You find something?" He asked. Spencer was leaning into the closet when he joined him. 

"The wallpaper is loose and there's another hole." Spencer said as he backed out. 

"Good job we blocked it." Spencer frowned as he watched Derek block it again. 

"I don't like this." Spencer admitted. Derek frowned too and pulled Spencer into his arms. Spencer hid his face in Derek's neck. 

"Do you want to call Hotch?" Derek asked after a moment. 

"No, we need to do this." Derek chuckled at the man's stubbornness. 

"We can figure out another way if you don't want to be here." Spencer shook his head and wrapped his arms around Derek. "Let's go and watch that documentary, you didn't get to finish it." 


	24. Chapter 24

Spencer felt like he could breath again when the team piled into the house that Saturday. The noises had continued but Derek worked harder to distract Spencer, like turning the volume up on the TV if they were watching it. 

Spencer was taking a breath in their bedroom while David was cooking for them. He could hear the rest of the team talking in the living room from his place on the bed. Derek entered the room slowly but loudly enough that Spencer wouldn't get startled. 

"Hey, Pretty Boy. You doing ok?" He asked gently. Spencer couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips. 

"Yeah, I'm ok." He said, standing up. Derek took Spencer's face in his hands and looked into his eyes. When he saw nothing but the innocent happiness that was always present when the team was together, Derek pressed a lingering kiss to Spencer's forehead before guiding him back downstairs with a hand on Spencer's lower back. 

"How's it going?" David asked once everyone was sat at the island with food in front of them. Derek looked towards Spencer, silently asking him if it was ok to disclose the things that had happened.

"The noises have continued." Derek said vaguely. 

"Is that significant?" Emily asked, "I thought we had moved passed them?"

"The other day someone was banging on the basement door and, we went to check the basement the next day, we found a tunnel that leads into the woods." Derek explained. Spencer shivered almost imperceivably and shifted in his seat.

"Someone was in the house?" Penelope said, her voice high and worried. 

"We blocked the basement door and a closet door upstairs on the first day we were here." Spencer commented quietly. The team could tell that their youngest was worried, maybe even fearful, about the noises but they also knew he was stubborn and still tried to prove himself to them even if he didn't need to. 

"Have you seen anyone?" Aaron asked. He was glancing between Derek and Spencer with the same look he had when Jack had told him that he was scared of his closet. 

"No, it's just been the noises. But there was definitely someone on the other side of the door, and I don't doubt that they would've come in if we hadn't blocked the door." Derek said. Aaron nodded. 

"Why did you block the doors?" JJ asked. Derek chuckled and shook his head, like he was in disbelief over his own actions. 

"Gut feeling." The team shared a nervous chuckle. They knew that they trusted their own, and each others, instincts and never had it been more blatantly obvious that they should. 

"You guys are going to be here for a long time, huh?" Said Penelope after a few minutes. Her voice was sad in her realisation. "This UnSub likes to mess with the residents, right? And they're only making noises after two weeks?" Aaron patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. Then they turned back to the table and continued to question the men about how they had settled in, besides the noises. 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will hopefully give you a longer chapter next time

The team had been called back to Quantico a week later, leaving Spencer and Derek behind in Alaska. 

Derek had realised within the first week that he couldn't stay in the house everyday and so had spoken to the moving men about finding a part time job in the town, with Hotch's approval of course. 

Friday's were one of the days he went to work and so Spencer was in the house alone. And he didn't like it. He didn't like that there was so much space, that sounds echoed. He constantly made sure that the doors and windows were locked and watched TV with the volume low so that he could hear noises if they happened. He would have read, he wanted to read, but he couldn't concentrate for long enough. 

Though this was the first time it got bad.

He had been making himself something for lunch, actively trying not to count down the hours until Derek got back, when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. He whipped around to look at the window he thought the shadow had been in. Nothing. As he was looking out of the window, another shadow passed his peripheral vision. 

He wasn't sure how long he stood in the entrance hallway, following the shadow moving around the house with his eyes. His heart was beating hard in his chest and his ears were twitching with every click and creak he heard. He was getting slightly frantic when the noises started. He hadn't been able to get a clear look at whoever was outside and now he was racing through the house, aimlessly trying to follow the sounds. 

He desperately wanted to go outside and look for whoever was messing with him but he didn't want to risk someone actually getting into the house. Not that he was 100% sure that someone wasn't already in it. 

He was so focused on the sounds and shadows that he didn't notice the front door unlocking and opening. He shouted in shock when a hand clasped on his shoulder. 

"Hey, hey, hey. It's me, Pretty Boy." Spencer turned to Derek and collapsed into the man's arms. As his breathing returned to normal, he noticed that the noises had stopped. Derek cupped Spencer's face to look at him properly. He felt his heart ache at the wide-eyed, fearful look Spencer had on his face. "What's wrong, baby?" 

"There was someone..." Spencer blinked. "Someone was outside. And the noises." Spencer was surprised at the lump in his throat. 

"There was no-one outside when I pulled up." Derek said, not dismissively but more as an observation. Spencer frowned and stepped closer to Derek. 

"I feel like I'm going crazy." Spencer whispered. His words holding a lot more weight than if Derek had said it. 

"Spence, I've heard the noises too and we know that someone is out there, they've been in the house. If you say you saw someone outside, I believe you. You aren't going crazy." Spencer closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "If you want, I'll go and get some security cameras and set them up outside." 

"Not now." Spencer said softly. Derek hummed his ok then wrapped his arms around the man. "Why are you home so early?" Spencer's voice was muffled by Derek's shoulder but the other man heard. 

"Finished the job quick, after Old Lady Jeffton stopped pawing at me." Spencer giggled and nuzzled closer. "I'm going to take a shower, why don't you wait in our room while I do?" 

Spencer did wait on their bed while Derek showered, he was finally relaxed enough to read. Though his attention was drawn away from his book when Derek exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Spencer couldn't resist the urge to admire Derek's wet torso, his eyes followed the lines of his muscles and the dark lines of his tattoos. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Derek shirtless before, the older man had worked hard on his physique and was proud of it, but he'd never had the chance to have such an unobstructed view. Not only that, but Spencer had never really allowed himself to look. So, he was taking advantage of the opportunity. 

"You should shower, it might help you relax." Derek suggested. Spencer bit his lip and looked up to Derek's face, thankful that he hadn't been caught looking. He slid off the bed and grabbed some clean underwear and one of Derek's shirts before he shuffled into the steamy bathroom. "I'll wait in here for you." Derek said as Spencer shut the door. Spencer smiled thankfully. 

Derek was laying on the bed, in his boxers, scrolling through his phone when Spencer emerged. Derek's eyes trailed over Spencer's form appreciatively, humming to himself at the sight of his shirt hanging off Spencer's shoulders. 

"Have you eaten yet?" Derek asked as Spencer crawled into bed next to him. He watched Derek's screen over his shoulder and the older man let him.

"I was making myself lunch when the UnSub started messing with me." Spencer admitted after a minute. 

"Well, I'm starving so let's go make something." Spencer frowned. 

"You eat at work, right?" Spencer shifted onto his knees to look at Derek properly. Derek laid his phone on his lap and chuckled.

"Yes, I eat at work. I knew I was coming back early enough to have lunch with you." Derek said. They made their way down to the kitchen and Spencer climbed into one of the island chairs at Derek's request. "Has this happened before?" Derek asked while he worked.

"The noises are worse when you're gone."Spencer said softly, not looking at Derek even though the man was facing away from him. 

"We should go and look in the surrounding woods at some point. Maybe we can find where that tunnel goes." Spencer hummed, his eyes drawn to the trees at the mention of them. Derek set a plate in front of him and laid his hand on Spencer's back. 

"We should go when it's light." Derek sat down next to him and dug into his lunch like he hadn't eaten in days. Spencer shot him a fondly disgusted look then started on his own food, albeit with more manners. 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some slightly gorey stuff in this chapter but it's nothing crazy I don't think. Proceed with caution anyway  
> Sorry that this has taken so long, I've been distracted by life things. I'm not 100% sure all the facts in this chapter are accurate but it fits the story whether they're right in our world or not.
> 
> I couldn't be bothered to do by final check/edit so any errors are because of that

They waited until the next day to explore the woods. Spencer had reluctantly waited at the house while Derek had gone into town to get the security cameras early that morning. Spencer ended up calling Penelope to distract himself and he pointedly ignored the shadows passing the windows. 

It was still early when Derek returned with the cameras and he set them up as quickly as he could. 

"They have motion sensing and will send a notification to my phone when it senses something. It records all movement." Derek explained. "I guess we'll see how well it works when we go to look in the woods." Spencer took a shaky breath and nodded. "You ready to go?" 

"Yeah." Spencer said, tapping his pistol lightly. Derek chuckled and wrapped his arm around Spencer's shoulder's to lead him out of the house. They checked the locked door twice before they headed towards the treeline. 

"I guess they work." Derek said as his phone tinged a few times as they passed the cameras. Spencer huffed a small laugh and leant into Derek's side slightly. 

The slight feeling of unease settled in their chests as they stepped passed the treeline and Derek's arm slipped down to Spencer's waist to pull the younger man closer without mentioning the weird feelings that came from entering the woods. They tried to push the feeling away as they ventured further into the trees. 

Beyond Derek constantly checking his phone to make sure he had service, they walked for a long time without event. Until Spencer tripped on something.

"Shit, you ok?" Derek asked once Spencer was standing straight again. 

"Yeah." Spencer muttered. Derek moved the leaves, twigs and dirt with his foot, revealing a small, wooden trap door. 

"What the-?" Derek grumbled. He bent down and tried to open the door but it just rattled the closed bolt. He slid the bolt open and opened the door. Spencer shuffled closer, glancing around at the trees as though he was expecting someone to jump out at any second. Derek lowered himself onto his stomach and pulled out his phone to use the flashlight to look into the hole below the door. 

"What do you see?" Spencer asked. Derek hummed and slid himself further into the hole. 

"It's the end of the tunnel." Derek called back up. He hauled himself back up onto his feet with a grunt. "Leads back to the house." He added unnecessarily. 

"So they put the entrance back here so that residents wouldn't see it?" Spencer said. He wrapped his arms around himself. The hairs on the back of his neck had risen, though he knew this wasn't the usual comforting gaze of his family. "Can we keep going?" Really Spencer wanted to go back to the house but, now that they had found the trap door, his gut was telling him that they were going to find more. Derek agreed easily and took a photo of the door. 

They ventured further into the woods, Spencer still feeling someone's gaze on his back. He whispered his concerns to Derek, who wrapped his arm back around him and pulled him against his side. 

After walking for three hours, they happened upon a clearing. It wasn't a big clearing but it was beautiful. There was a cluster of boulders on the opposite end of it and wildflowers carpeted the floor. The sun had been streaming through the trees on the walk to the clearing but, in the open area of the clearing, the sun was bathing the plants in golden light. They stepped into the clearing and headed to the boulders to take a break. 

Spencer turned his face up to the sky, basking in the light. Derek took a deep breath and turned to look at Spencer. In the sun, Spencer's hair was lighter and his eyes had brightened to a gorgeous hazel. He thought that Spencer's eyes were pretty when they seemed brown but, in the right light when the colour could be seen more deeply, Spencer was stunning. Derek opened his mouth to tell the other man what he was thinking but a rustling in the trees stopped him and something was thrown. It landed a few feet in front of them. 

"What...?" Spencer muttered as he slid off the rock he had been sat on. "Derek..." Spencer crouched down next to what had been thrown. In amongst the grass and flowers was the head of a piglet wearing a bonnet. 

"What the actual fuck?" Derek said. He took a picture of the head. Spencer grimaced in disgust and turned away. Derek turned away too. "C'mon, baby, let's go back to the house. We can come back out here when the team visit." Derek said softly. They hurried out of the woods as fast as they could without it looking overly suspicious. 

It took them a few hours to break through the treeline and emerge in the house's yard. Derek sent the photos to the team as soon as he could while Spencer curled up on the couch with his book. 

The whole situation had his mind running the wrong way. He knew he was supposed to be thinking about the case, about what the head could mean. He knew it was evidence and, now they were back at the house, he realised they should have collected it. But, with the UnSub messing with them and Derek treating him the way he had, his mind was always straying from the case. 

He was an FBI agent. A good one. He had been undercover before, he knew what to do, granted the last time be was undercover it hadn't ended all that well. But the whole situation had him off-kilter. He wanted to believe that Derek wanted to be with him but every now and then, whenever there was a noise, he'd remember that they were on a case. That they were supposed to be undercover as a couple. Then he'd remember that Derek had been acting this way before the case, he'd been treating him like this for months, maybe even years if he thought about it enough. He pushed the changing thoughts from his head and tried to focus on the case. 

He bit his lip as he thought. The piglet head was wearing a bonnet, he remembered. His brows drew into a frown as he recalled the details of the bonnet. 

_BAU Team_

_Spencer Reid (1:36pm): The bonnet the piglet was wearing was a replication of an Elizabethan coif worn by women during the 16th and 17th century._

_Aaron Hotchner (1:40pm): Ok. Thanks, Reid._

Spencer gazed out of the window for a moment, thinking of any significance to that era. He looked up when a cup appeared in front of his face. 

"Here you go, sweetheart." Derek said softly, handing it over. Spencer smiled thankfully and curled his hands around the cup. 

"Thank you." Spencer watched Derek relax into the couch and turn the TV on then turned his attention to his book. 

It wasn't long before Derek wrapped his arm around Spencer and tugged him against his side. 

"I think Penelope might be making her way up here next week." Derek said. Spencer closed his book and laid his head on Derek's shoulder. 

"Mmm. JJ mentioned bringing Will and Henry but I'm not sure about that." Spencer added. Derek pressed a kiss to Spencer's temple. 

"I don't think they'd hurt them." Derek said. Spencer shrugged and snuggled into Derek's side. 

A while later, there was a thump on the front door. They waited a moment to see if whoever was there would knock again. When no knock came, Derek stood up and wandered to the door. 

"Spence." Derek called. Spencer approached carefully and waited for Derek to finish taking photos before he laid a hand on the man's arm. It was the piglet's head, though now there was a piece of aged paper tucked into the bonnet. 

"At least we have the evidence." Spencer said. Derek chuckled. 

"Do you have any gloves with you?" Derek asked. Spencer fixed him with a stare then turned to his messenger bag to pull out a pair of latex gloves and a bag. Derek picked up the head and slid the paper out then dropped the head into the bag. "Put it in the fridge." Spencer took it and did as he was told then returned as Derek unfolded the paper. " _You are committing acts that are against God, you will be punished for your unlawful acts."_ Derek read. Spencer frowned. 

"Laws based on the oppression of homosexuals haven't been in place since the 20th century. Actually, consensual sex between homosexual couples was first decriminalised in Illinois in 1962. Conneticut followed that. Then, by 1973, Colorado, Oregon and Delaware. Ohio, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New Mexico, New Hampshire, California, West Virginia, Iowa, Maine, Indiana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Washington and New York, had all decriminalised homosexuality in the '70s. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin joined them in the '80s. Then Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, Montana and Rhode Island in the '90s. And Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri , North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia in 2003. Then, of course, same-sex marriage was legalised in all 50 states in 2015." Spencer glanced at Derek and felt a blush rise on his cheeks when he noticed the fond look he was getting. He wasn't used to getting this far into his ramblings. "Interracial marriage has been legal in all states since 1967, and Alaska never enacted any anti-miscegenation laws. What I'm trying to say is that no unlawful acts have been committed, going by today's laws anyway." Derek smiled as Spencer fiddled with his hands. 

"So, maybe they aren't living by today's laws." Derek suggested. "The UnSub might be religious?" Spencer nodded along and looked over the message again. They headed to the living room, where Derek called Penelope on his laptop. 

_"My favourite boys!"_ Penelope greeted them cheerily. They responsed with smiles and 'hello's. 

"Baby girl, I need you to patch the others in." Derek interrupted her before she could continue ranting about the girl she'd had a run in with at the coffee shop. Spencer smiled to himself, his head bowed, and scooted a little closer to Derek to get into the frame better. 

_"Oh, it's one of those calls."_ Penelope said with a frown. 

"Sorry, but you can tell us about it later." Penelope huffed but she nodded excitedly before adding the rest of the team to the call. 

_"What do you have?"_ Hotch asked with no preamble. 

"I think that the UnSub believes they are living in the Elizabethan era. The bonnet the pig was wearing and the ideology behind the note both coincide with that period. If they live in the woods, isolated, it may be possible that they can live in their delusion." Spencer said quickly. Hotch nodded and they could see the others adding the information to the evidence board for the case. 

_"Has anything else happened?"_ Prentiss asked. 

"Nothing that we haven't already told you about."


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for gross culty things  
> Sorry it's been so long, I haven't really been working on any of my WIPs recently but I'm hoping my brain will shift back into gear.   
> Not a very long chapter but hopefully the next one will be longer and have some exciting Moreid moments that I'm sure people have been waiting for

The next few days were a blur of relative monotony; Derek went to work, Spencer read or watched documentaries and they ate and went to sleep together. The UnSub had continued tormenting Spencer with the shadows and the sounds during the day but he had stopped mentioning it to Derek. 

It was dark when Spencer woke. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and pushed himself up onto his elbow carefully so as to not wake Derek. Just as he was falling back asleep, his head nestled against Derek's neck and shoulder, there was a footstep outside the room. He barely stopped himself from jolting upright. He slowly lifted Derek's arm from around him and slid out of the bed, pausing only to make sure the other man was still asleep. Spencer opened the door cautiously, his heart rate increasing at the dark hallway. He reluctantly stepped out of his bedroom and closed the room behind him. 

"Hello?" Spencer whispered, instantly cursing at himself and shaking his head before moving. He made his way hesitantly towards the stairs, his eyes adjusting to the dark as he went. The footsteps sounded again; simultaneously above him and below him. As soon as he stepped back away from the stairs, the footsteps downstairs stopped and the ones above him turned to stomps. 

Then they stopped.

And the bedroom door opened. 

"Spencer?" Spencer turned to Derek. Spencer released a heavy breath and quickly stepped back towards Derek. A shadow passed the stairs on the lower level and caught his attention. He whipped around to look at it but it had gone. "Spencer, what's wrong?" Derek asked, his hand a comforting weight on Spencer's shoulder. 

"Can we check the house again?" Spencer's voice was soft, loud enough for Derek to hear him but too quiet for anyone to hear if someone was downstairs. Derek frowned and tried to turn Spencer towards him but the younger man was rooted and staring down into the blackness of the entrance way. 

"... Yeah, ok." Derek caved before going back into their room to get his gun. When he returned, Spencer hadn't moved. He slipped his hand into Spencer's then pulled him towards the stairs, his gun raised in the other hand. 

After a quick sweep in the dark, Derek left Spencer in the kitchen while he did a more thorough check. 

"Derek." The call echoed through the house. It caught Derek's attention immediately and he sprinted towards the kitchen without hesitation. Spencer was stood where he had been left but his wide eyes were trained on something out of the window. 

In the yard, just in front of the treeline, stood a group of people. The women were wearing muddied gowns and bonnets, the men wore simple cloth trousers and undershirts with thin-looking waistcoats under their coat, and the children, though they looked to be teenagers, were dressed like the men but the girls wore bonnets too. They looked like they had stumbled out of a Reinassance fair. All of them were staring into the kitchen window, where the agents stood, with angered looks on their faces. All illuminated by a roaring fire that looked so much bigger than what would be considered safe in the middle of a forest. 

"What do we do?" Spencer whispered. A shiver shook his body as Derek slipped his arm around the smaller man's waist. Derek suddenly wished that he had his phone to take a picture, forgetting that the security cameras would catch what was happening. 

"Everything is locked." Derek replied. Spencer shook his head. One of the men stepped forward holding a wooden cross above his head. "Is that... Is that the rest of the piglet?" Derek wanted to turn away when he realised what was pinned to the cross but he couldn't. 

The man's muffled voice barely made it through the closed window but it was clear the group was participating in some form of prayer when a louder, clearer 'amen' reached them. The group then finally turned their gazes from the house to watch the man throw the cross and the piglet into the flames. They all watched it burn for a moment then 10 pairs of eyes fixated back on the agents. They started another prayer before turning and disappearing into the trees leaving the fire burning brightly. 

"What the fuck." Derek said. Spencer leant into him and curled his hands into fists to try to stop himself from shaking. "Come on, I'll check everything again so we can go to bed." He wasn't entirely sure how they were supposed to relax enough to go to sleep after witnessing that but they seemed to be finished for the night. 

"The fire." Spencer pointed out softly. Derek sighed but nodded. 

"Yeah, ok. Cover me, I'll throw water on it." 

\----

Once the fire was out, they reluctantly made their way back up to bed. Spencer laid silently, staring out the dark window as though he could still see the light of the fire outside. Derek settled down and watched Spencer for a second before he reached over and slid their hands together to get his attention. 

"Spence, come here." Derek said softly. He gently tugged the other man towards him until Spencer was laying against him. Derek ran his hand through Spencer's hair in an attempt to calm him. "We can tell Hotch and the team what happened in the morning, maybe let the local officers know."

"Do you need to go to work tomorrow?" Spencer asked. Derek moved his hand to stroke over Spencer's back. 

"I'll call in. I don't want to leave you here alone, not after seeing them." Spencer sighed and turned to bury his face in Derek's chest. 

"I hate this." Spencer admitted. Derek frowned and moved to look at Spencer.

"You want to tell Hotch that we can't do it?" Spencer shook his head and whined. "Talk to me, what's going on up there?" They shifted until they were sat up, Derek leant against the headboard and Spencer knelt in front of him. 

"I can't concentrate on the case, I don't know what is happening. I've never felt this way before." Derek frowned and took Spencer's hand again to offer him support without interrupting the man. "I'm scared. I know that we can defend ourselves and I know that the team and the police department know we're here but I can't help it." 

"Hey, you're allowed to feel, Pretty Boy. I know you struggle with this sort of thing but it is ok. We've never been undercover for this long before." Derek said softly. He pulled Spencer against his chest and rubbed his hand up and down the man's back. "We can talk to Hotch tomorrow, ok? Just relax, I won't let anything happen to you." Spencer sighed and snuggled into Derek's chest.

The rest of the night only offered boughts of fitful sleep for Spencer while Derek laid still and watched the shadows until morning came bringing dark clouds and rain with it. Spencer whined and buried his face in Derek's chest to hide from the dim light coming through the window. They listened to the heavy rain for a while before Spencer rolled off the bed to go to the bathroom. Derek got up and did his usual checks of the house, though slightly more thoroughly after the night before, then started to make them some coffee. He grabbed his phone to message the team when he noticed the notification from the security cameras. Noting the time, he sent the video to Hotch without watching it. The call came almost immediately. 

"Morgan." Derek greeted. 

" _Is Reid with you?"_ Hotch asked. 

"He's in the shower right now." Derek tucked his phone against his shoulder to continue making the coffee.

" _Call us back when he's out._ " With that, Hotch hung up. Derek shook his head and let his phone drop onto the counter. Spencer shuffled down the stairs with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He kept his eyes away from the windows and headed straight for the couch. 

"Here, baby." Derek said, his voice soft as he handed Spencer his cup. Spencer hummed his thanks and curled around it. "We got to call the team back." Derek grabbed his laptop when Spencer didn't reply. Spencer only moved when the faces of the team showed up on the screen. 

"Explain what we're looking at." Rossi asked. The team were looking at their iPads, where Garcia had pulled up the video. 

"Reid woke up in the middle of the night and we saw them." Derek said. Spencer leant into Derek's side slightly and looked out of the window. 

"Did they do anything?" JJ asked. 

"No. They prayed and threw that cross into the fire then left." Derek answered. Spencer shivered at the memory. 

"But they didn't try anything?" Rossi shook his head in confusion. 

"They take their time, they like to mess with people." Prentiss reminded them. Spencer sighed and leant back into the couch cushions after glancing around. 

"Reid? Are you ok?" Hotch asked. The team turned their attention to the spaced out doctor. 

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." Hotch's frown deepened, he watched the man silently for a moment. 

"Are you ok to continue the case?" He asked.

"We're in too deep to leave now, we can stop this from happening to other people." Spencer said. Prentiss and JJ shared a concerned look. 

"That doesn't answer my question, Reid." Hotch scolded gently. Spencer frowned and curled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. 

"I'm ok." He said as firmly as he could.

"We'll try to visit soon. It may be safer for all of us to look for where they live." Spencer smiled at the man's attempt to reassure him. "I also recall you telling me that you work well under intense terror, so I think you'll be ok." 


End file.
